It will be a very sad day indeed when we say goodbye to Desmond Tutu, one of the world’s most loved religious leaders and consistently a voice of reason.

It’s a sign of just how loved he is that a man from Massachusetts in the U.S. sent a written request to Desmond, asking if he would be so kind as to send a letter addressed to his newborn baby.

Of course he would, and that letter has now found its way onto the internet. Here’s the South African with more:

The letter was uploaded to Facebook just over a week ago by Jeni C. She wrote: “This. This is what the world needs. This is a letter sent to a colleague’s newborn baby from Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

“Juliet’s daddy wrote to him because he wanted to collect a book of letters for Juliet. Not only did he respond, but he wrote what the world must embrace.

“This is beyond beautiful. Please share. The world needs to see this.”

Ready yourself for a case of the feels…

That’s cool, your eyesight isn’t what it once was. Here’s the text from that letter above:

Hello, little sister. You don’t know me. I am a very old grandfather from South Africa nearing the end of my journey on earth while your journey – on another continent many miles away – is just beginning.

We may never meet on earth, so I thought to send you a secret.

Well, it’s not really a secret because we should all know it. So I don’t mind if you tell everyone else.

Did you know that all people belong to one family; the human family?

That although we may look nothing like each other, live in separate homes, practise our own cultures, subscribe to different religions – and some of us have more money than others – we are all sisters and brothers in God’s family?

You and I, and everyone else, were born with the same purpose. For love, for goodness and for one another.

God Bless You.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

Cape Town, South Africa.

Imagine this country was led by people with such a compass for right and wrong, such a degree of love and compassion for their fellow humans?

Thanks for putting more smiles on dials Desmond, we dig your vibe.

[source:thesouthafrican]