Silence fell over Birstall on this lunchtime as hundreds marked a week since Jo Cox’s death.
A vigil in Market Square, yards from where the MP was shot and stabbed, saw strangers holding hands and singing.
The gathering came as it was revealed an inquest into her death will open on Friday at Bradford Coroners’ Court.
The Rev Paul Knight said the vigil would be a “full stop” for Birstall and allow the community to move on.
Starting at 12.45pm when Mrs Cox was shot, the service lasted a full hour and finished at 1.48pm when she was pronounced dead at Leeds General Infirmary.
Crowds held hands around the sea of flowers amassed at the feet of Joseph Priestley’s statue.
Hymns such as The Lord is My Shepherd and Abide With Me were sung, while prayers were said and silences were held for people to reflect on the past week.
Addressing the mother-of-two, Rev Knight said in an open speech: “Your love was too overwhelming for the hatred, so you were silenced."
Crowds chanted “we stand together” as the vicar called out values that he said Mrs Cox stood for, such as peace, equality and family values.
Speaking after the vigil, the Rev Knight said: “For me, the fact so many have turned out to be together despite what has happened is symbolic of the community’s determination to do what Jo wanted.
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“We can only do that properly if we know and trust each other. We are not scared of the people know but of the people we don’t know.”
He added: “The service today is a full stop for Birstall. We need to move forward. We will never forget Jo but we need to reclaim this lovely community and of course we hope it will be a better one after the suffering it has seen this week.”
