Tutu ‘spiritual father of our new nation’: Ramaphosa
The family of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has thanked the world for loving their father.
Tutu's daughter, Reverend Naomi Tutu, said since the day of his passing they have been overwhelmed with messages of love, support and good wishes.
" uDaddy would say the love the world has shown has warmed the cockles of our hearts. He would then would say, I don't know what a cockle is but whatever it is, it has been warmed. Since he was an English teacher and if he didn't know what a cockle is, I definitely don't know what a cockle is. But our cockles are warm.
"Many of the messages we received have said, thank you for sharing him with the world. Well it actually is a two way street, because we shared him with the world, you shared part of the love you had for him with us. And so we are thankful."
Reverend Naomi Tutu spoke on behalf of the family at her fathers funeral held at St George's Cathedral in Cape Town on Saturday morning.
Only 100 people, including Tutu's family and several high-profile politicians, attended the official state funeral, led by Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba.
Tutu died on Boxing Day at the age of 90 in Cape Town.
The Arch was the last surviving SA laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize.
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the eulogy.
He said Archbishop Tutu had left a formidable legacy and we are enormously diminished by his passing.
"The most fitting tribute we can pay to him, whoever and wherever we are, is to take up the cause of social justice for which he tirelessly campaigned."
Ramaphosa says while the late former president Nelson Mandela was the father of our democracy, the Arch was the spiritual father of our new nation.
"At Madiba’s request, he led the Truth and Reconciliation process, and he did so with integrity, dignity and humility. Helping us to come to terms with the past was among the most arduous tasks of our new nation, and Archbishop Tutu played a seminal role.
"His life straddled an epoch in our country’s history that has now come to an end. Though we say goodbye to him today with the heaviest of hearts, we salute our beloved Archbishop for all he did to build this nation.”