Just like nobody these days has the faintest idea who Mahatma Gandhi is. Nelson Mandela's fame - if that is the right word - will certainly outstrip that of most if not all of his world-leader contemporaries.
And publicly acknowledged the part the Methodist Church played in his life, and the stand it took against apartheid.
http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5847613&ct=13188869¬oc=1
I felt a bit like that on the day of Diana's death, but Mandela is a bit different. One of THE most significant figures of the 20th Century worldwide, and a real, real hero. A truly inspirational figure.