A public memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Cathedral of St. Paul.
The service is free and open to the public. A committee led by retired Hennepin County Judge LaJune Thomas Lange, who is Minnesota's honorary consul for South Africa, organized the memorial.
The ecumenical service will feature remarks by more than a dozen of Minnesota's religious and political leaders, as well as African music and choirs.
Speakers include Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Keith Ellison, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.
Also speaking will be Bishop Peter Rogness of the St. Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Rev. Kevin McDonough of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis; Abdisalam Adam of the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Civic Center, and Steve Hunegs of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
Music will be provided by David Billingsley, the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church Choir, the St. Peter Claver Cameroon Choir, the St. Olaf African International Choir and the African Harmony Choir.
Mandela, who died Dec. 5, was South Africa's first black president and leader of his country's anti-apartheid struggle.
Jean Hopfensperger
