By Wendell Roelf

CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – South Africans remembered Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an anti-apartheid hero, with flowers, cathedral bells and warm words Monday. This was a day following his death in a Cape Town nursing facility at the age of 90.

Black South Africans revered Tutu as their moral conscience. He was a Nobel laureate and had spoken out against white supremacy.

His passing prompted an outpouring of tributes https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-africas-archbishop-desmond-tutu-dies-aged-90-2021-12-26 worldwide, including from U.S. President Joe Biden and his predecessors Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Pope Francis and the foundation of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first Black president and friend of Tutu.

The courage required to stand up for South Africa from its trenches was something that could not be explained. He stood firm and courageous, leading protests in his flowing clerical robe …,”, said Mandela’s widow, Graca.

St George’s Cathedral’s bells tolled for ten minutes on Monday noon. A homage that will be repeated daily until Friday. Tutu was a leader in many campaigns and marches against apartheid starting from St George’s.

Thabo Makgoba (Archbishop of Cape Town) asked everyone who heard the bells to “pause their hectic schedules for one moment in tribute to Tutu.”

People’s Cathedral, a strong symbol of democracy and the place where people laid their flowers for comfort, was known by mourners as “People’s Cathedral”. For mourners brave enough to face the rain, five condolence booklets were made available.

Noel wrote one of the messages, which was signed by Alfreda and Alfreda. It said: “You fought the hard fight. We were inspired to keep fighting for peace all around the world.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stated in late Sunday’s national address that flags would fly at half-mast throughout the country and at South African diplomatic mission abroad, until Tutu’s funeral which is scheduled for Saturday.

Love and laughter

Mpho Tutu van Fruth, Tutu’s child, said about her father that “his heart was big enough for the whole world to be in love”. This interview was done by the Trouw newspaper. Tutu lives in Holland and is an Anglican priest.

He sat alongside the weakest, poorest, and most vulnerable, and was always in company with some of the world’s greatest leaders. Tutu was well-known for his infectious laugh and love.

Every night, Cape Town’s city hall will be lit up in purple. This is the color of Tutu’s clerical gowns.

Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize 1984 for his nonviolent resistance to white minority rule. He witnessed the fall of the regime a decade later and headed a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that investigated the atrocities.

With as much fiendiness and anger as he ever had for the Afrikaners and Black elites in politics, he later held them accountable. However, his strong spirit of reconciliation shone through. He never gave up fighting for “Rainbow Nation.”

On Wednesday, the South African Council of Churches and the Diocese of Pretoria will host a service of respect in Pretoria. Cape Town will host an evening tribute to Tutu at the city hall that night, featuring representatives from his family, foundation, and other faiths and tribes.

Thursday will see Archbishop Tutu lay in state at St George’s before Saturday’s funeral will, which will also be conducted by Archbishop Makgoba.

According to Tutu’s wishes, his ashes will be placed in an ossuary just behind the pulpit. This was announced by Michael Weeder (Dean of St George’s Cathedral), at a press conference on Monday.

Makgoba claimed that there was a 500-name list of potential attendees, but added COVID-19 regulations which limit funerals to 100 must be respected.

He said that only a small fraction of people who wish to attend can be accommodated, and urged others to come to the services in cathedrals or churches around the country to remember him.

(Additional reporting by Jody Kan and Shafiek Tan in Cape Town, Emma Rumney from Johannesburg and Stephanie van den Berg AmsterdamWriting by Emma Rumney; Editing done by Bernadettebaum and Gareth Jones