“The time has now come to slow down, to sip Rooibos tea with my beloved wife in the afternoons, to watch cricket, to travel to visit my children and grandchildren, rather than to conferences and conventions and university campuses”

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu announced Thursday his intention to retire from public life on Oct. 7 – the day he is to turn 79.

Though he retired as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996 and retired again after completion of the work of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said he continued to work as “my mission determined.”

“Instead of growing old gracefully, at home with my family – reading and writing and praying and thinking – too much of my time has been spent at airports and in hotels,” Tutu said in Thursday’s announcement after noting how his schedule has grown “increasingly punishing” over the years.

“The time has now come to slow down, to sip Rooibos tea with my beloved wife in the afternoons, to watch cricket, to travel to visit my children and grandchildren, rather than to conferences and conventions and university campuses,” he stated.

According to Thursday’s announcement, the archbishop will limit his time in the office to one day per week until the end of February 2011, when the office begins its official winding down process.

While he intends to honor previously arranged engagements, Tutu said he would not add new appointments to his schedule.

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