Nelson Mandela Condition Remains Critical as Archbishop Prays for 'Peaceful End'
Thabo Makgoba, the South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, prayed on Tuesday for former President Nelson Mandela, who remains in critical condition in hospital.
"Grant Madiba eternal healing and relief from pain and suffering," Makgoba prayed following a visit to Mandela, who has been in a hospital in Pretoria since June 8.
The popular leader, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and became the nation's first black president in 1994, has been suffering from a recurring lung infection, and many believe he does not have much time left. On Tuesday, government officials confirmed that the former president's condition remains unchanged, and that doctors are doing their best to ensure his comfort.
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Supporters have been decorating the wall of the hospital with flowers and supportive messages.
Makgoba and Mandela's wife, Graca Machel, prayed for the 94-year-old's "peaceful end," BBC News reported.
"Make your compassionate and strengthening presence known to Graça, and to all who love Madiba, at this hard time of watching and waiting. Fill them with your holy courage and the gift of trusting faith, and take away their fears so that they may dare to face their grief and bring it to your presence," reads a prayer said by Makgoba at the hospital.
"Guide the medical staff so that they may know how to use their skills wisely and well, in caring for Madiba and keeping him comfortable. And uphold all of us with your steadfast love so that we may be filled with gratitude for all the good that he has done for us and for our nation, and may honor his legacy through our lives."
On Monday, Mandela's daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, said that she believes her father is "at peace," but only God "knows the end."
"All we do every day is take one day at a time and pray to the good Lord," Mandela told CNN in an interview. "All I pray for as a daughter is that the transition is smooth. He is at peace with himself. He has given so much to the world. I believe he is at peace."
She continued: "They haven't stopped treating him with all the best medicine in the world. He still opens his eyes … the touch is there. In our culture, the Tembu culture, you never release the person unless the person has told you: 'Please, my children, my family, release me.' My dad hasn't said that to us."
