I could not stop smiling the entire day of Friday, January 15, 2010. That morning, our class was granted the incredible opportunity of attending morning Eucharist that was led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu at his former dioceses, St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. During one of our pre-departure classes this past fall, Dr. Layne and Professor Reid told us that it might be possible for us to meet Archbishop Tutu (also known simply as the “Arch” as so many local South Africans refer to him as) but that it couldn’t be guaranteed as it depended on factors such as scheduling and availability. It wasn’t until this past Wednesday that we learned that we would be attending a service by the Arch on Friday morning.
While seated before the traditional Anglican service began, I imagined the sort of presence that Archbishop Tutu would hold; how he would act and carry himself (especially considering his personal achievements and international repute) and my reverie was interrupted when an elderly man of unassuming stature, hands clasped, approached the alter and the congregation rose to their feet; Archbishop Tutu had entered. I quickly realized Tutu’s undeniable energy and vibrant personality as he began the call and response; the congregation was instantly captivated. Even though this type of service is very routine, Archbishop Tutu spoke with sincere passion and conviction in way that seemed to be second nature to him; I could only try to envision what it must have been like to hear him preach the importance of nonviolent actions of protest during Apartheid-truly incredible, I’m sure.
At the end of the service, his lighthearted humor and informality made us all laugh when he said “OK, so did we cover everything? Peace be with you and all that? Yes? Ok, let’s go to breakfast!” Smiling and laughing to himself he dismissed the congregation and willingly obliged to take group pictures with us and the few other universities and groups that were in attendance.
Despite an arthritic hand (he is around 78 years old) he patiently signed postcards for us frenzied students, who were so excited and honored to make his acquaintance. His jubilant persona is renowned, as we heard one story of one morning after the Eucharist, he was waiting to cross the street enroute to his favorite café for breakfast, (Scotch Free-where we all had breakfast with him too) he was waiting to cross the street, dressed in his robes and despite the traffic light shinning green for cars, all cars stopped and started honking to let the Arch cross the street—when he got to the middle of the intersection, he stopped walking for a moment, did a little dance, and then proceeded to the other side.
I was treated to his humor when by luck and chance, myself and Katie were able to sit at the same table as the Arch for breakfast along with some of his closest friends (the former mayor of Cape Town, the current Dean of St. George’s, his family physician (who was also the first doctor to examine Mr. Nelson Mandela when he was first released from his 27 year tenure in prison)). After Katie and I received the French toast that we had ordered, he leaned over, while taking a sip of his Coke Zero that he had ordered, and said “my girls! Don’t you know Friday is a day of abstinence? And we fast for the day?!” Katie and I exchanged looks and worriedly mumbled apologies to which the Arch responded with a giggle “I am just kidding my girls! You are growing and that looks delicious!”
Considering the life that Archbishop Tutu has led and how he presents himself today is incredible and speaks highly to his ability to commiserate with people and to make others feel comfortable around him. In addition to winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and leading a 30,000 people protest march that stretched over 2km through downtown Cape Town in September of 1989, Archbishop Tutu has been arrested, spent time in jail, suffered from tuberculosis and prostate cancer, studied in London, was a professor at the University of Botswana in Lesotho, and has held various leadership positions in the church –and often as the first black man to do so, among many other accomplishments.
Archbishop Tutu has lived a life where he consistently puts others before himself, before his own suffering to bring peace and faith to them. What’s most impressive is that when meeting with Archbishop Tutu, one would not know of his accomplishments and struggles that he has overcome without previous knowledge or research, as he is so humble and very down to earth. For example, on the way to breakfast on Friday morning, with the 30 of us Elon students following directly behind him like obedient ducklings went through the Mandela-Rhodes plaza, he led us without even a glance past a huge painting of himself to a statue of his dear friend, Mr. Nelson Mandela that has been erected there and paused to speak to us about what a wonderful person he is.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu truly lives what he has adopted as his life philosophy; ubuntu. Ubuntu is what Tutu describes as the essence of what it is to be human. Someone who lives by ubuntu uses their strongest, most regarded qualities to benefit others while keeping an open mind and remaining accepting to all. He is famous for the saying that is derived from this philosophy that “we need other humans being to be human.” Archbishop Tutu exemplifies the inherent potential that all humans possess to do good and what’s more, he encourages all he meets to pursue that goodness and that they have the ability to act differently than an established precedence [especially that of violence].
I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity to have met him and am proud that he holds an honorary degree from Elon University (which he received during his 2003 visit to our school) and judging from the smiles that my peers shared on Friday, they felt just as privileged to have met Archbishop Desmond Tutu as well.
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