The funeral will take place on January 1 in Saint-Georges Cathedral in Cape Town, the former parish of this great anti-apartheid figure.
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South Africa is paying homage to Desmond Tutu, affectionately known as “The Arch”. A great figure in the fight against apartheid, the Anglican Archbishop died Sunday, December 26, at the age of 90. And his foundation announced that the funeral will take place on Saturday, January 1 in Cape Town, in St. George’s Cathedral, its former parish. But many residents are already stopping in front of the place of worship to pay homage to the former Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Several events are planned for the next few days. Thereby, “the bells of St. George’s Cathedral will be rung every day for ten minutes, starting at noon”, all week from Monday to Friday. The current Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, “calls on all who hear the bells to take a break from their busy schedules to pay homage to Archbishop Tutu”. On Wednesday, the Diocese of Pretoria and the South African Council of Churches will hold a memorial service in the capital, details of which will be announced later.
On Thursday evening, the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust and the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, the two institutions representing the family and legacy of Desmond Tutu, will organize “an intimate evening with the friends of the archbishop” and his widow Leah Tutu. Friday, the body of the deceased archbishop “will rest in a fiery chapel in the cathedral” and the next day, finally, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba will lead the funeral service in the cathedral.
Known for his legendary outspokenness, which he used to denounce injustices and strip all powers, “The Arch” had been weakened for several months and had long suffered from prostate cancer. He no longer spoke in public but greeted the press present at each of his trips, with a mischievous look, a weak gesture of the hand, as during his vaccination against the Covid or, in October, at the ceremony celebrating its 90th anniversary. The country had not heard from him since November 1, when he voted in local elections out of sight.