One of the stops on our bus tour was the beautiful St.
George’s Anglican Cathedral built in
1901 and resembles a traditional stone built English church with stained glass
windows from France. Desmond Tutu (Nobel Prize Winner 1980) has
served as the Archbishop of this cathedral for many years and has dedicated his
life to the promotion of peace and anti- apartheid . He has described South
Africans as the ‘rainbow people of God’ and we learned that he organized a huge
peace rally in 1989 which started on the front steps of the cathedral. An
informational display of photos and text guided us through the years of the
injustices of apartheid and the people it affected – very moving.
The Cathedral keeps records of visitors and the young ladies
who greeted us were interested to learn we were from TN (‘ Is that close to
Mississippi?) and had heard of Elvis and Oprah! One of the greeters showed us
to the entrance and said that it’s thanks to Desmond Tutu and the abolition of
apartheid that she’s able to have the job she has today at the cathedral – 18 short
years ago it wouldn’t have been possible for her to work there.
On a side note, I was interested to note that Queen Elizabeth II visited
Cape Town in 1995 and a plaque in the cathedral commemorated her visit – such a
poignant and symbolic visit. –Liz Gregor
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