South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who died Sunday at the age of 90, was a remarkable man who lived in remarkable times.

The first Black Bishop of Johannesburg and later Anglican Archbishop of Capetown, he used his influence to rally public opinion — in South Africa and around the world — against the evils of the South African Apartheid form of government.

He had a remarkable ability to advocate for human rights, not only in his own country but around the world. Along with Nelson Mandela, the political leader who emerged from decades of being a political prisoner of the White-ruled government to become South Africa’s first Black president, Tutu led South Africa to a peaceful change toward a government of equality.

Their most remarkable accomplishment was to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, with Tutu as its head. The commission investigated the many cases of abuse and human rights violations committed by the Apartheid government, including the police and soldiers who carried enforced the policies. But instead of punishing those abuses, the commission asked the perpetrators to admit what they had done, so they could be forgiven. How could the country have moved on from its painful history without this reconciliation?

Mandela and Tutu shared the Nobel Peace Prize and set an example for the rest of the world on how to deal with terrible histories.

His passing on Sunday will be met with recognition, mourning and tributes from around the world. It is only fitting.