JOHANNESBURG \u2014 South Africa is observing a week of mourning leading up to the Saturday funeral of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who died Sunday at the age of 90.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Each day at noon, the bells at St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town will toll for 10 minutes. A guestbook has been set up at the cathedral for mourners to sign.<\/p>\n
Cape Town\u2019s city hall and Table Mountain will also be lit up in purple each night until the funeral.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tutu, a Nobel peace laureate was known worldwide for anti-apartheid activism and as a champion of human rights, is due to lie in state at the cathedral Friday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Tutu\u2019s death Sunday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation\u2019s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tutu was far more than a spiritual leader.<\/p>\n
He spent his life advocating for civil rights and speaking out against injustice, corruption and oppression.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Thabo Makgoba is the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted every human being on Earth to experience the freedom, the peace, and the joy that all of us could enjoy if we truly respected one another. And because he worshiped to God, he feared no one. He named wrong wherever he saw it and by whoever it was committed,\u201d Makgoba said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his activism against South Africa\u2019s racist apartheid regime.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
When Nelson Mandela was released from prison, Tutu housed him on his first night of freedom.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The archbishop then presented Mandela to the public as the country\u2019s first Black president in 1994.<\/p>\n
Tutu was at the helm in the country\u2019s healing process after apartheid, chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where many horrific accounts of injustice were heard.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Despite the hardships he confronted, Tutu is remembered for his peaceful activism and ability to forgive.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Parliamentarian Patricia De Lille spoke to reporters about her memories of the Arch, as he was known.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHumor and a great sense of timing were amongst the Arch\u2019s greatest assets. He had an extraordinary ability to defuse tension, contain anger, and remind people of their human essence. He used humor to convey important messages. And had that particular, that we all know, contagious love,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Tributes to Tutu have been pouring in.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden said they were \u201cheartbroken\u201d to learn of Tutu\u2019s passing.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHis courage and moral clarity helped inspire our commitment to change American policy toward the repressive Apartheid regime in South Africa,\u201d the Bidens said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a mentor, a friend and a moral compass for me and so many others. A universal spirit, Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere,\u201d said former U.S. President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI am deeply saddened to hear of the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He was a critical figure in the fight against apartheid and in the struggle to create a new South Africa and will be remembered for his spiritual leadership and irrepressible good humor,\u201d said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, \u201cArchbishop Tutu was a towering global figure for peace and an inspiration to generations across the world. During the darkest days of apartheid, he was a shining beacon for social justice, freedom and non-violent resistance.<\/p>\n
Tibet\u2019s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said \u201cArchbishop Desmond Tutu was entirely dedicated to serving his brothers and sisters for the greater common good. He was a true humanitarian and a committed advocate of human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Nelson Mandela Foundation said Tutu\u2019s \u201ccontributions to struggles against injustice, locally and globally, are matched only by the depth of his thinking about the making of liberatory futures for human societies. He was an extraordinary human being. A thinker. A leader. A shepherd.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
After his retirement at the age of 79, Tutu continued speaking out on ethical and moral issues from xenophobia to LGBTQ+ rights to climate change.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa has called him \u201ca patriot without equal\u201d and \u201ca man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tutu is survived by his wife, children, siblings and their families.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: Voice of America<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
JOHANNESBURG \u2014 South Africa is observing a week of mourning leading up to the Saturday funeral of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who died Sunday at the age of 90.Each day at noon, the bells at St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town will toll for 10 min…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n