Johannesburg - The eyes of the world will be on St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town tomorrow for the funeral service for the late Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu.
Noticeably absent will be the Arch’s good friend, the Dalai Lama. The South African representative of the Dalai Lama, Ngodup Dorjee Shingchen, said the Dalai Lama had not applied for a visa. The Arch passed away on Sunday at age 90.
This week, tributes poured in from across the world for the man dubbed “the moral compass of South Africa”.
A statement from the Archbishop Tutu IP Trust and the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation by Dr Ramphele Mamphele said: “This deluge of love serves to compensate, to some extent, for Covid regulations restricting the size of gatherings and the nature of the send-off our beloved Arch so richly deserves.”
Table Mountain was turned purple to honour the Arch, and several events were held across the country to commemorate his life.
Spokesperson for the Tutu IP Trust and the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation Roger Friedman said the Archbishop was very clear on his wishes for his funeral.
“He wanted no ostentatiousness or lavish spending. He asked that the coffin be the cheapest available and that a bouquet of carnations from his family be the only flowers in the cathedral,” he said.
Former first lady Graca Machel in a video message to the nation, said she is not deeply saddened but deeply wounded.
“Part of me, my journey has been chopped piece by piece. I still feel blessed and privileged to have experienced Desmond and Leah Tutu as friends and the Arch as my personal guide. I knew I could just pick up the phone, and he would be on the other side, assuring me that everything is alright,” she said.
Machel said the void left by the Arch’s passing is a huge loss for South Africa, Africa and the world.
“The leadership he presented. We will struggle to find people like that. It’s simply daunting. That we had this outstanding leadership. How are we going to cultivate that outstanding leadership to guide SA? I wonder what is going to happen next week when the funeral is over. This is what makes me sad and makes me worry about the future,” she added.
Machel bid Tutu farewell by adding: “I am so proud of you, my brother. Go well. Your colleagues will welcome you in jubilation. Go and rest. We will keep you in our hearts. We will look after Leah”.
Anti-Apartheid Activist and Former President of SA’s Olympic Committee, Sam Ramsamy, said: “My interactions with Archbishop Desmond Tutu commenced immediately after my return from exile in 1990. Discussions with him were always educational, containing norms and values of the highest moral doctrine. An evangelist for social justice and correctness in all its manifestations.”
“After it was decided that South Africa would take part in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, a bloody and horrible massacre was committed in Boipatong by some so-called supporters of the IFP, killing 45 people with many more injured. There were then calls for South Africa’s withdrawal from the Olympic Games. Archbishop Tutu helped calm the situation. And South Africa’s first non-racial team took part in Barcelona, bringing back two silver medals.
When in informal company, his extraordinary sense of humour was a great treat. He never hesitated to crack a joke. There was an abundance of stories. He once mentioned that on a flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town, the passenger sitting next to him requested black pepper from the steward. The white steward returned with a copy of the Sowetan,” he said.
Bells will ring at 12 noon each day at the Cathedral and at many cathedrals and churches across the land. In Cape Town, the Angelus prayer will be recited.
The Archbishop Emeritus will lie in State today, and the public will be given an opportunity to file past his coffin, which will reflect the simplicity with which he asked to be buried. Outside the Cathedral, the City of Cape Town has laid out condolence books and places to leave flowers.
Archbishop Desmond's remains will then lie overnight, alone, in the Cathedral which he loved.
The funeral will take place in the Cathedral at 10 am on Saturday, January 1, 2022.
The preacher will be Bishop Michael Nuttall, the retired Bishop of Natal, who was Dean of the Anglican Church in Archbishop Desmond's Tutu time. In that position, he became known as “Number Two to Tutu”, and they formed an exceptionally close relationship, which in the 1980s modelled how a white leader could work for and closely with a black leader.
The choir will be the renowned Johannesburg choir, which he loved, Imilonji ka Ntu, whose contribution may have to be streamed in.
The Archbishop will be cremated privately, and his ashes interred in the cathedral.
Donations can be made to the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation in lieu of additional flowers (Bank details: The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, First National Bank, Branch 209809, Swift FIRNZAJJ, Account Number 62336748358).