Johannesburg | Sunday
SOUTH Africa’s favourite church leader and veteran fighter against apartheid, Desmond Tutu, on Saturday celebrated the 25th anniversary of his consecration as a bishop, with tributes pouring in from around the world.
Speaker after speaker at a packed St Mary’s cathedral in downtown Johannesburg paid tribute to Tutu, who turns 70 in October, praising his compassion for the poor and saying he had become synonymous with the fight against apartheid.
The celebrations were attended by Lesotho King Letsie III and by President Joachim Chissano of Mozambique, who said Tutu had helped many people “acquire keys to heaven” with his commendable leadership.
“You did not only think about your life. You always kept your foot on the ground and looked underneath on the suffering of the poor,” said Chissano.
He gave “The Arch” — as Tutu is affectionately known — a portrait of a peasant woman grinding corn to make one of Africa’s staple foods, porridge.
Tributes from as far afield as the United States, England and China were read out at the service.
Tutu was ordained as a priest in 1961, serving in a black township near Benoni, east of Johannesburg.
He was consecrated as Bishop of Lesotho on July 11 1976.
In 1984 he was awarded the Nobel peace prize for his non-violent campaign to limit international trade and investment activities in South Africa, and repeatedly spoke out about violence erupting in black townships in 1985.
He often intervened during violent clashes in apartheid South Africa, soothing tempers and saving lives with his calm approach and quick wit. On 14 April 1986, he became Archbishop of Cape Town, retiring in 1995 to head South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established to investigate human rights abuses under apartheid.
Members of the Anglican Communion queued up during Saturday’s service to praise Tutu’s charismatic ministry in South Africa, his deep faith, acute wit and what they said was his powerful manifestation of God’s love.
Tutu thanked the Communion for their support during his tenure.
“You are always a good captain when your are a captain of a willing side. I wish I could open my heart for you to see how deeply gratified I am,” he told the congregation.
He said just as South Africans had defeated oppression, they would also overcome the crime wave currently ravaging the country.
He paid tribute to his wife, Leah, for her support over the years.
“The best thing I ever did in my life was to marry you,” he told a visibly flattered Leah, with whom he has four children.
Last year, Tutu was discharged from hospital after tests found no further traces of the prostate cancer for which he received treatment in 1998.
The archbishop was first treated for prostate cancer in 1997 and underwent “cryosurgery,” which freezes and destroys the prostate gland without destroying surrounding tissue, in Atlanta, Georgia, late 1998. – AFP