Archbishop Desmond Tutu to be buried in Cape Town on Saturday

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s funeral will take place in Cape Town on Saturday.

Tutu died in a frail-care centre on Sunday at the age of 90.

In a statement, the Archbishop Desmond Tutu IP Trust and the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation confirmed some of the early plans for a “week of mourning” leading up to the funeral service at St George’s Cathedral in the Mother City:

• The bells of St George’s Cathedral will be rung daily for 10 minutes, starting at midday, from Monday to Friday.
• The Anglican Diocese of Pretoria and the SA Council of Churches will hold a memorial service in the capital city on Wednesday.
• The Archbishop Desmond Tutu IP Trust and the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation will host an intimate evening with friends of the Arch and his wife of 66 years on Thursday.
• Tutu will lie in state in St George’s Cathedral on Friday.

Additional plans would be announced during the week, the trust said.

Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba, who will lead the funeral on Saturday, has asked that those who hear the bells “pause their busy schedules for a moment in tribute”.

TimesLIVE