Matthew Shepard’s ashes interred at National Cathedral 20 years after brutal killing
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This 1989 photo provided by the Matthew Shepard Foundation shows Matthew Shepard in San Francisco. The ashes of Shepard, whose brutal murder in the 1990s became a rallying cry for the gay rights movement, were laid to rest this morning at the Washington National Cathedral.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dennis and Judy Shepard hold hands as they walk behind Rev. V. Gene Robinson carrying their son’s ashes at the conclusion of a “Thanksgiving and Remembrance of Matthew Shepard” service at Washington National Cathedral in Washington today.
WASHINGTON >> The ashes of Matthew Shepard, whose 1998 killing became a rallying cry for the gay rights movement, have been laid to rest in Washington National Cathedral.
More than 2,000 people gathered at the cathedral today to celebrate the life and honor the memory of Shepard, a 21-year-old gay man.
Shepard’s ashes had for 20 years been kept by his family in Wyoming, where the college student was killed. The ashes have been interred in the Washington cathedral’s crypt.
The ceremony’s homily was delivered by the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church and a close friend of the Shepard family.
Shepard’s gruesome killing at the hands of two roofing workers who authorities say targeted him because he was gay drew attention to the violence and discrimination endured by LGBTQ people across America.
