Religious leaders ask followers to pray for statesman as his hospital stay lengthens.
|||Cape Town - Worshippers from across Cape Town’s religious spectrum came together in prayer for Nelson Mandela’s recovery at St George’s Cathedral on Friday morning.
Wearing layers of clothing to keep warm under the cathedral’s high ceilings, the faithful sang quiet hymns.
Leaders from various churches, as well as from the Khoi, Muslim an Hindu communities, lead the congregation in prayer and well-wishing.
“When he is in pain, all of us are in pain. When he feels discomfort, all of South Africa is in discomfort. We ask (God) to grant him relief from discomfort and to cure him of his ailments,” said Sheik Ebrahim Gabriels of the Muslim Judicial Council.
The cathedral’s dean, Michael Weeder, read a message from Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba, who is in Australia.
Makgoba asked all South Africans and the faithful from around the world to “join (him) in asking for God’s merciful hand to be held over Madiba, and for his love to enfold Madiba and his family”.
Support from the ANC, came in the form of an address by the party’s provincial chairman, Marius Fransman, who recalled the fondness that virtually all South Africans share for Madiba and spoke of how many lay awake at night in anticipation of news of his condition.
“We use this opportunity also to reflect on the legacy of an icon who sacrificed much in the struggle for freedom from suffering for many South Africans.
“Madiba always displayed a fondness for children and a compassion for the most vulnerable people in our society. We must take this legacy forward. The struggle can never be over while people are still oppressed and suffering, in South Africa or, indeed, anywhere in the world.”
The prayer vigil follows a week of similar gatherings at churches and other religious centres throughout South Africa.
In Pretoria, clergymen visited the Pretoria hospital where Mandela is being treated.
The delegation of clergymen, led by Bishop Abraham Sibiya of the Christ Centre Church in Pretoria, arrived at the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Arcadia to pray for Mandela.
“We are deeply concerned about his health, as the church in South Africa. We pray that God will give him a speedy recovery and make him strong,” said Sibiya.
“We have come to pray that Mandela's family all over South Africa may be strengthened in this difficult time. We pray that God will comfort them and give them a will to move on.”
He said Madiba was an epitome of reconciliation, not only for South Africans, but for the world.
“He is a very good example of how the whole world should respond to the crises that they face. Tata Mandela taught us that we can put aside our differences [and] hostilities to join hands and pray together.”
Sibiya said he was hopeful the elderly statesman would recover soon.
“Let us believe together. Let us all come together, hold hands all over the world. Let us call upon God so that he would heal [former] president Mandela.”
He said a prayer session would be held outside the hospital because there were restrictions on entering the facility.
“We are not going to go inside, we are restricted from going in. We are not able to go inside,” said Sibiya.
“We can pray anywhere. We have come to uphold the former president in prayer.”
He said Mandela family members might join the prayer session.
Sibiya, a member of the International Bishops' Conference, was accompanied by bishops from the All-Africa Bishops' Council.
Mandela was hospitalised in the early hours of Saturday morning with a recurring lung infection. The presidency said he was in a “serious but stable” condition.
A media scrum of local and international reporters and broadcasters has been stationed outside the hospital since Mandela was admitted on Saturday.
Security at the hospital remained tight on Friday, with several police officers searching all vehicles entering the facility's two entrances.
The elder statesman's family members have been spotted at the hospital several times over the past six days.
Cape Argus and Sapa