HUGE numbers of mourners gathered outside St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town today to pay respects to anti-apartheid hero Desmond Tutu.

       Emotional well-wishers descended in their masses upon the South African city after the archbishop -known affectionally to the public as “Tata” - passed away at the age of 90 last Sunday.

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       Desmond Tutu is spected to lie in state for three days Credit: Getty - Contributor 8

       He was is being laid to rest in Cape Town, South Africa 8

       The late religious leader was flanked by priests as his coffin was carried into St George’s Cathedral 8

       A funereal ceremony is expected to take place at the weekend

       His body is expected to lie in state throughout Thursday and Friday to allow as many people as possible to say their final goodbyes.

       It comes ahead of a mass funeral service on Saturday where President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver a tribute.

       Tutu, who requested the cheapest coffin and did not want any lavish funeral expense, will be cremated and his remains interred behind the cathedral pulpit he often used to preach against racial injustice.

       South Africa is marking a week-long mourning for Tutu with the country's multi-coloured flag flying at half-mast nationwide and ceremonies taking place every day until the funeral.

       And throughout today thousands of South Africans flocked to the cathedral to pay their last respects.

       Many were reportedly in tears as comparisons were drawn to the loss of former leader Nelson Mandela in 2013.

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       One of the first members to enter the Church spoke of their admiration for the 90-year-old.

       Randall Ortel, a medical doctor, said: "I am basically just here to pay my respects.”

       “He is definitely one of my role models and I want to emulate what he has done in his life,"

       Another, Amanda Mbikwana said she had arrived as early as 5am in with her mother and nephews so that her family could hour his life.

       "We have known Tata's work, he has stood up for us and we are here today in a free country to give him the honour, to celebrate his life and to support (his wife) Mama Leah and the family."

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       Mourners gathered from the early hours of the morning to pay tribute 8

       Queues to access the cathedral snaked around the corner 8

       Mourners hugged as they remembered rights activist Tutu 8

       One well-wisher wipes her eyes as she said her final goodbye

       Others ever described him “rock star” in South Africa as they followed tributes from celebrities across the world.

       Before opening up to members of the public, the church conducted a private service for the family, including his widow Leah.

       The coffin was opened for the family to view the body and they sang Tutu's favourite hymn, according to Tutu's successor, Thabo Makgoba.

       In Johannesburg, a memorial service was held at St Mary's Cathedral, where Tutu was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1961 and where he later served as the first Black Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg in 1985.

       An interfaith prayer service was also held in Pretoria, the capital city.

       A COUNTRY MOURNS

       Born in 1931 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal, South Africa, Tutu became the first Black Anglican Archbishop of both Cape Town and Johannesburg.

       During the 1980s, he played a role in drawing national and international attention to the iniquities of apartheid.

       He later chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and has continued to draw attention to a number of social justice issues over the years.

       In 1993, South African apartheid finally came to an end, and in 1994, South Africans elected Nelson Mandela as their first black president.

       President Mandela also appointed Tutu to head the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, tasked with investigating and reporting on the atrocities committed by both sides in the struggle over apartheid.

       In his final years, he regretted that his dream of a "Rainbow Nation" had not yet come true.

       Asked on his retirement as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996 if he had any regrets, Tutu said: "The struggle tended to make one abrasive and more than a touch self-righteous.

       "I hope that people will forgive me any hurts I may have caused them."

       STRENGTH OF A LION

       In December 2003, he rebuked his government for its support for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, despite growing criticism over his human rights record.

       He also criticised South African President Thabo Mbeki for his public questioning of the link between HIV and AIDS, saying Mbeki's international profile had been tarnished.

       A schoolteacher's son, Tutu was born in Klerksdorp, a conservative town west of Johannesburg, on October 7, 1931.

       He initially worked as a teacher, but quit in 1957 to join the church, studying first at St. Peter's Theological College in Johannesburg.

       He was ordained a priest in 1961 and continued his education at King's College in London, before becoming Anglican Dean of Johannesburg in 1975.

       Desmond Tutu dead – Archbishop and human rights activist dies aged 90