editing South Africans await word on Nelson Mandela, pray for 'father of democracy'
A get-well message carrying a photo of Nelson Mandela hangs on the railings at the entrance to the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where the former South African President is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa on June 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Nelson and Winnie Mandela raise their fists to salute a cheering crowd upon his 1990 release from Victor Verster Prison. He was still as upright and proud, he would say, as the day he walked into prison 27 years before.
Mandela and Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda arrive at an ANC rally on March 3, 1990, in Lusaka, Zambia. Mandela was elected president of the ANC the next year.
At his Soweto home on July 18, 1990, Mandela blows out the candles on his 72nd birthday cake. It was the first birthday he celebrated as a free man since the 1960s.
An estimated 40,000 ANC supporters listen to Mandela's address during a 1994 rally ahead of South Africa's general election.
Mandela was sent to the infamous Robben Island, a prison five miles off the coast of South Africa, where he would spend 18 of his 27 years behind bars. His cell is shown here in 2003.
Mandela shows something to a group of international journalists visiting the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, May 2004.
Mandela welcomes a group of international journalists visiting the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg in May 2004.
Mandela poses with the Webb Ellis Cup during the Springboks rugby team's visit to his Johannesburg home on October 27, 2007. South Africa became the holders of the cup after defeating England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final.
Mandela leaves the InterContinental Hotel after a photoshoot with celebrity photographer Terry O'Neil on June 26, 2008 in London, England.
The "46664 Arctic" benefit concert was held in Tromso, Norway, on June 11, 2005. Mandela is pictured here surrounded by artists who performed at the event.