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Desmond and Leah Tutu to renew their wedding vows

To celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary‚ retired Anglican Archibishop Desmond Tutu and his wife Leah will renew their wedding vows this week.

The Eucharist services will be held at St George’s Cathedral (Cape Town‚ on 2 July) and the Holy Cross Anglican Church (Soweto‚ on 4 July)‚ his spokesperson said in a statement.

Tutu has often paid tribute to his wife‚ both sincerely and with humour‚ for the support she gave him while bringing up their children during the anti-apartheid struggle where they endured political pressures.

He credits her for ensuring his humility.

“Leah has been very good at keeping my head the right size‚” he previously told Times Media. “Once I was driving and when I looked at her she looked slightly more complacent and self-satisfied than usual. When I wondered why‚ she showed me this bumper sticker that said‚ ‘Any woman who wants to be equal to a man has no ambition’. The other day she stuck a notice just beneath the television set in our bedroom that said‚ ‘You are entitled to your wrong opinion’.”

Leah Tutu‚ when asked the secret to staying in love over many decades in 2011‚ said: “There is no magic to making marriage work. A marriage is never made in heaven‚ you make it what it is. If you love a person‚ it’s simply not enough. You must meet halfway‚ give and take‚ for the rest of your lives”.

She recalled how she had met him when he was stubborn headmaster’s son who ignored her as a young girl‚ and whom she “chased” in their college years‚ telling The Times: “I still think he’s very good looking”.

“We greet each other every morning and night with a kiss.”