Anti-apartheid activist and archbishop Desmond Tutu has been laid to rest in a simple ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa.
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The ceremony on Saturday started with song and a procession down the aisle of the Anglican Cathedral in the city.
It was Tutu himself who had planned the ceremony, and he wanted it to have a toned down feel.
In the cathedral, the Nobel Prize winner lay in a simple coffin made of pine – the most affordable that it was possible to find.
–Tutu died on Christmas Day, aged 90. For the last few days he has been lying on a parade bed.
During the funeral ceremony, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa read words of remembrance. He said that Tutu could come with sharp criticism of the authorities even after the apartheid regime was abolished and democracy introduced.
“Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been our moral compass and national conscience,” the president said.
–– Tutus light shone ever brighter
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki was also present at the funeral. It was also former Irish President Mary Robinson and Nelson Mandela’s widow Graca Machel.
The service was led by Michael Nuttall – the white former rector who was “deputy commander” when Tutu was archbishop of Cape Town.
– We were a foretaste of what could be possible in our lost, divided nation, Nuttall said on Saturday.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby – who is also the international head of the Anglican Church – came with a video message during the funeral.
– For many of the Nobel Prize winners, it is the case that their light has been dimmed over time. But Archbishop Tutu’s light was shining brighter, Welby said.
–Reconciling hand
Together with Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu was one of the most prominent opponents of the racial segregation regime in South Africa.
With the Bible in hand, Tutu waged a tireless struggle to abolish the brutal racial segregation system. He condemned the white rulers of Pretoria, but at the same time extended a conciliatory hand to the white people.
At the same time, he led an intense campaign to get Western countries to impose sanctions on South Africa. In 1984, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
–Truth Commission
After the abolition of the white minority regime in the early 1990s, Tutu was appointed head of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1995.
The commission formed a school and has since been copied in several countries that have dealt with previous wars, riots and abuses.
On Christmas Eve, the church bells in St. George’s Cathedral rang in honor of Tutu. Due to coronary heart disease, only about a hundred mourners attended the funeral.
After burial and cremation, the urn with Tutu’s ashes will be placed in the cathedral.
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