THE funeral of "moral and spiritual giant" Archbishop Desmond Tutu is set to take place in Cape Town today.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner and anti-Apartheid leader died in South Africa on St Stephen's Day, aged 90.
A week of mourning was declared and hundreds of people queued to pay their final respects as he lay in state for two days at St George's Cathedral.
In line with his wishes to avoid "ostentatiousness or lavish spending", the coffin was a simple wooden one with rope handles.
The Rev Michael Lapsley, Canon of Healing at the cathedral, described him as a "moral and spiritual giant loved and revered for fighting for equality for all people".
"His work did not stop with the end of apartheid," Mr Lapsley said. "Archbishop Tutu bravely championed the equality of all people. He transformed the church by bringing women into the clergy. He championed the LGBTQ community for whom he is a hero all over the world."
Archbishop Tutu also fought for equal access to education and the assisted dying movement.
Following the final public viewings yesterday, Archbishop Tutu's body remained alone in the cathedral, "a place that he loved", according to a statement from Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba.
Clerics, family members, close friends and dignitaries will attend a requiem mass this morning, where President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to read a eulogy.
Afterwards, Archbishop Tutu will be cremated and his remains placed in the cathedral, where he preached for many years.
