Modest requiem for a titan: South Africa set for Tutu farewell

Cape Town: South Africa began bidding farewell on Saturday to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the last great hero of the struggle against apartheid, in a funeral stripped of pomp but freighted with tears and drenched in rain.

Leah, wife of late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Lesotho's King Letsie attend the state funeral. It started with a hymn and a procession of clerics down the aisle burning incense and carrying candles in the church where Tutu will also be buried. Tutu died last Sunday at the age of 90, triggering grief among South Africans and tributes from world leaders for a life spent fighting injustice.

Famous for his modesty, Tutu gave instructions for a simple, no-frills ceremony, with a cheap coffin, donations for charity instead of floral tributes and an eco-friendly cremation.

The requiem mass started at 10 am (0800 GMT) at Cape Town's St. George's Cathedral where, for years, Tutu used the pulpit to rail against a brutal white minority regime. That is where he will be buried.

Tutu grand children Nompumelelo Ngomane left, and Mpilo Ngomane read from the Bible at the funeral of Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa

South Africa has been marking a week of mourning, culminating with two days of lying in state. Several thousand people, some of whom had travelled across the country, filed past a diminutive rope-handled casket made of pine, adorned simply by a bunch of carnations.

People watching the funeral service. Under a grey sky and drizzle, mourners were ushered into the cathedral. Rains, according to historian Khaya Ndwandwe "are a blessing" and shows that Tutu's "soul is welcome" to heaven.

Mourners included close friends and family, clergy and a guests, including former Irish president Mary Robinson, who is to read a prayer. Others mourners were Elita, the widow of the last apartheid leader FW de Klerk, who died in November.

The coffin is carried out after the funeral service.

Tutu's longtime friend, retired bishop Michael Nuttall, who was Anglican Church dean when Tutu was the archbishop of Cape Town, will deliver the sermon. The two forged a strong relationship, illustrating for many how a white leader could work for a black leader. Nuttall went on write a memoir titled "Tutu's Number Two" about their friendship.