JOHANNESBURG (AFP)— South Africans lit candles and prayed for Nelson Mandela at church services around the country Sunday as officials said the anti-apartheid hero was in stable condition and resting at home.

A national campaign promoted by a group of media organizations encouraged South Africans to “Light a Candle of Hope” for Mandela's recovery from an acute respiratory infection.
Officials said Mandela, 92, was still in stable condition at his home in Johannesburg after being discharged following a two-day hospital stay that had the world on edge over the health of one of its most beloved icons.
At the Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto, the township where Mandela lived before being jailed by the apartheid state, provincial premier Nomvula Mokonyane led a candle-lighting ceremony and thanked Madiba -- the clan name by which Mandela is affectionately known -- for his sacrifices for the country.
“We now pray that Madiba lives for another moment. We pray that God blesses the hands of those who are looking after him,” she said.
“Thank you Madiba for sacrificing your life for us.”
At Rosebank Union Church, several kilometers from Mandela's Johannesburg home, Pastor Ndaba Mazabane also prayed for Mandela's health and praised his historic role in leading the process of reconciliation after the fall of white-minority rule in South Africa.
“We thank God that through his leadership, here is a man who was incarcerated for 27 years in prison... but (sought) to unify the nation for a common good and a common vision of building a united, non-racial South Africa,” Mazabane said.
“We know he's ageing, but nonetheless we pray that today somehow God will help him and ease all the pains he is suffering.”
Government spokesman Thabo Masebe said Mandela was still in “stable” condition and was able to walk and talk, though reports indicated he was spending much of his time resting.
A member of Mandela's military medical team told journalists outside his home that the Nobel peace prize winner was “fine”, the Sapa news agency reported.
Mandela continued to receive a stream of visitors, including his grandson Mandla and fellow anti-apartheid fighter Andrew Mlangeni, the agency said.
“He looks bright,” said Mlangeni, one of Mandela's co-defendants in the Rivonia Trial, a case that saw them both sentenced to life in prison for sabotage in 1964.
“They say he is responding well to treatment and what pleased me most, he is able to recognize us,” Mlangeni added.