Nelson Mandela: South Africa Prays For Recovery

South Africans have been praying for Nelson Mandela's recovery during church services across the country as the 94-year-old former president spent a third night in hospital with a recurring lung infection.

His condition has been described as "serious" for the first time but he is "stable" and is "able to breathe on his own" as well as communicate with relatives, according to government spokesman Mac Maharaj.

Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said the news was very "painful" for the country, which has been divided in its reaction to Mr Mandela’s fourth hospital stay since December.

She said many do not want to see him suffering any longer, echoing the sentiments of a controversial Sunday Times front page headline, "It's Time To Let Him Go".

The article quoted a long-time friend of Mr Mandela's, Andrew Mlangeni, who said: "The family must release him so that God may have his own way. They must release him spiritually and put their faith in the hands of God.

"Once the family releases him, the people of South Africa will follow."

Crawford said others felt the complete opposite: "The nation is split actually because a lot of people we were talking to really want to hold on to him for as long as possible.

"He means so much to them …Young people saying he is the father, grandfather of the nation.

"He’s held personally responsible for their democracy and they see him as the architect of the new South Africa, the rainbow nation; he is the moral compass of the nation and is seen as hand behind the throne, although he’s not been in active politics for over a decade."

Local journalist Chriselda Lewis said the country had been "devastated" by his admission to a Pretoria hospital on Saturday.

She said: "The sentiment is 'we wish you a speedy recovery'… The man is old we understand that, but can you not just stay a little bit longer? But if you stay a little bit longer then when is the right time for him to leave?

"I don’t think there’s ever going to be a right time for South Africans for Mr Mandela to leave. When there's no Madiba, who is there? That’s the question that we all ask."

Hundreds gathered to pray for Mr Mandela at Sunday Mass at the Regina Mundi Catholic church in the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto.

Soweto resident Mlugisi Sekhosana: "We wish him speedy recovery, he must get well. We know what he did for us in South Africa. All the nation, black and white, we wish him well."

A friend of Mr Mandela, who spent time with him in jail, told Sky News: "It’s not a good day at all today. It’s terrible to have a day, a Sunday morning where people are praying and the country is saying in a sense ‘please God give us yet another chance’.

"The spirits of everyone in the country are down and we are crossing our fingers."

The Sunday media splashed pictures of the country's first black president in better health on the front pages.

The City Press' front page showed a picture of a smiling Mr Mandela and quoted President Jacob Zuma urging prayers, while the tabloid Sunday Sun headline was "Madiba fights for life!"

The government has yet to give an update on his condition.

A statement from the office of President Jacob Zuma on Saturday said: "During the past few days, former President Nelson Mandela has had a recurrence of lung infection.

"(On Saturday morning) at about 1.30am, his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to a Pretoria hospital. He remains in a serious but stable condition."

It said Mr Mandela was receiving expert medical care and "doctors are doing everything possible to make him better and comfortable".

Mr Zuma wished Mr Mandela a quick recovery on behalf of the government and the nation and requested that the media and the public respect the privacy of the former leader and his family, the statement said.

Mr Mandela was accompanied to the hospital by his wife Graca Machel, who had been due to address a hunger summit in London but cancelled her participation on Thursday, possibly suggesting that her husband's health had deteriorated during the last few days.

It is the second time in recent months Mr Mandela, affectionately often referred to as Madiba, has been in hospital.

He spent 10 days in hospital between March and April to receive treatment for pneumonia.

"He is a fighter. He has been through this many times and he has been through worse issues, and he's survived," Mr Maharaj said.

A spokesman for the African National Congress, the ruling party that has dominated politics in South Africa since the end of apartheid, said the nation was "prepared for the worst", but urged people to pray for the icon.

"Madiba is the personification of humanity, friendship, honesty, integrity. He means all of these things to us," spokesman Jackson Mthembu told Sky News.

The news prompted an outpouring of concern for a figure revered across the globe.

British Prime Minister David Cameron sent his well wishes on Twitter, saying: "My thoughts are with Nelson Mandela, who is in hospital in South Africa."

From America, where President Barack Obama has often called Mr Mandela an inspirational figure, the White House also sent good wishes.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and the people of South Africa as he recovers," US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.

Mr Mandela has a history of lung problems dating from when he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner.

He spent 27 years on Robben Island and in other jails for his attempts to overthrow the white-minority government.

After becoming South Africa's first black president in 1994, he stepped down as president in 1999 and has not been politically active for a decade.

His last major public appearance was in July 2010, at the final of the Fifa World Cup at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.