Cape Town bells to ring daily to honor Desmond Tutu

Bells at the cathedral where Archbishop Desmond Tutu led marches and campaigns against South Africa’s apartheid will ring on five consecutive days to mourn his death.

Thabo Makgoba, the archbishop of Cape Town, announced that the bells of St. George’s Anglican Cathedral will ring for 10 minutes at midday for five days to mark Tutu’s death.

Tutu, the first Black archbishop of South Africa and a leader in the anti-apartheid movement, died on Sunday in Cape Town at the age of 90. His death was due to complications from cancer, which he had been diagnosed with in 1997.

“We ask all who hear the bells to pause their busy schedules for a moment in tribute to Archbishop Tutu,” Makgoba said, according to The Associated Press.

Tutu will lie in state at St. George’s Cathedral where the public will be allowed to walk past his coffin, reflecting the “simplicity with which he asked to be buried,” the Anglican Church of Southern Africa said.

Tutu’s funeral Mass will take place on Jan. 1 at 10 a.m. local time. The funeral will be led by Bishop Michael Nuttall, who served as the dean of the Anglican Church during Tutu’s time and was often referred to as “Number Two to Tutu.”

On Sunday, Cape Town’s city hall as well as Table Mountain, which overlooks the city, were lit up in purple, the color of Tutu’s clerical robes, in honor of the late Nobel Peace Prize winner.

City Hall and Table Mountain in Cape Town were lit up in purple Sunday to honor the passing of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the retired South African clergyman who challenged apartheid, won a Nobel Peace Prize and became a global campaigner for human rights. https://t.co/ljQbIgXg5L pic.twitter.com/4TRkwi5w32

— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 27, 2021

Numerous churches and cities across South Africa are planning events to commemorate Tutu and his work. Cape Town will be holding an interfaith memorial service on Wednesday and several dioceses across the country will be holding ecumenical services.

Tutu IP Trust and the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation will be holding a memorial service in Cape Town on Thursday as well.