Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and veteran of South Africa's struggle against white minority rule, died on Sunday at the age of 90.
In 1984 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent opposition to apartheid.
A decade later, he witnessed the ends of that regime and he chaired a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up to unearth atrocities committed during those dark days.
The outspoken Archbishop Tutu was considered the nation's conscience by both black and white, an enduring testament to his faith and spirit of reconciliation in a divided nation.
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the late 1990s and in recent years he was hospitalised on several occasions to treat infections associated with his cancer treatment.
"The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa," President Cyril Ramaphosa said.
"Desmond Tutu was a patriot without equal."
The presidency gave no details on the cause of death.
Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Source: AAP
Archbishop Tutu preached against the tyranny of the white minority and even after its end, he never wavered in his fight for a fairer South Africa, calling the black political elite to account with as much feistiness as he had the white Afrikaners.
In his final years, he regretted that his dream of a "Rainbow Nation" had yet to come true.
"Ultimately, at the age of 90, he died peacefully at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town this morning," Dr Ramphela Mamphele, acting chairperson of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu IP Trust and Co-ordinator of the Office of the Archbishop, said in a statement on behalf of the Tutu family.
A frail-looking Archbishop Tutu was seen in October being wheeled into his former parish at St George's Cathedral in Cape Town, which used to be a safe haven for anti-apartheid activists, for a special thanksgiving service marking his 90th birthday.
Dubbed "the moral compass of the nation", his courage in defending social justice, even at great cost to himself, always shone through - and not just during apartheid.
Bishop Desmond Tutu displaying an "End Apartheid" T-shirt at New York's City Hall in 1986. Source: AP
He often fell out with his erstwhile allies at the ruling African National Congress party over their failures to address the poverty and inequalities that they promised to eradicate.
Just five feet five inches tall and with an infectious giggle, he helped rouse grassroots campaigns around the world that fought for an end to apartheid through economic and cultural boycotts.
Talking and travelling tirelessly throughout the 1980s, Archbishop Tutu became the face of the anti-apartheid movement abroad while many of the leaders of the rebel ANC, such as Nelson Mandela, were behind bars.
'A painful loss'
Tributes poured in from around the world.
Former US president Barack Obama, the nation's first Black leader, called Tutu "a mentor, a friend, and a moral compass" who could "find humanity in his adversaries".
"A universal spirit, Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere," said the fellow Nobel Peace laureate in a statement.
US President Joe Biden said he was "heartbroken" to learn of the archbishop's death.
"Desmond Tutu followed his spiritual calling to create a better, freer, and more equal world," Biden and First Lady Jill Biden said in a statement that praised Tutu's "courage and moral clarity".
Prime Minister Scott Morrison thanked Archbishop Tutu for making "the world a better place" in an emotional Twitter post.
The Vatican said in a statement that Pope Francis was saddened and offered "heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones".
"Mindful of his service to the gospel through the promotion of racial equality and reconciliation in his native South Africa, his holiness commends his soul to the loving mercy of almighty God."
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres called Tutu "a towering global figure for peace and an inspiration to generations across the world".
"During the darkest days of apartheid, he was a shining beacon for social justice, freedom and non-violent resistance," Guterres said in a statement.
Queen Elizabeth II said Tutu was a "man who tirelessly championed human rights in South Africa and across the world".
"I remember with fondness my meetings with him and his great warmth and humour," she said in a statement.
Archbishop Tutu led numerous marches and campaigns to end apartheid from St George's front steps, which became known as the "People's Cathedral" and a powerful symbol of democracy.
He was a long-time friend of Mr Mandela, and the pair lived for a time on the same street in the South African township of Soweto, making Vilakazi Street the only one in the world to host two Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu addressing the Nelson Mandela Freedom Rally in Hyde Park, London. Source: Press Association
"His most characteristic quality is his readiness to take unpopular positions without fear," Mr Mandela once said of Archbishop Tutu. "Such independence of mind is vital to a thriving democracy."
At a Boxing Day service at St George’s, there were only a handful of congregants to hear the news of Archbishop Tutu's death in a brief homage by the Very Reverend Michael Weeder, who spoke from the Archbishop's former pulpit, saying it was “once the celebrated point of command” before asking parishioners to bow their heads in a moment of silence.
"It is sad, but he was old and served his country very well and it's a very painful loss at a time when there is a leadership crisis in the country and the world,” said Ntokozo Mjiyako, a 39-year-old lawyer taking an early morning stroll in Cape Town.
