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Catholics in the South African township of Soweto gathered at the Regina Mundi church on Friday prayed for the health of 94-year-old Nelson Mandela, who has spent a second night in hospital after being admitted for a recurring lung infection.

Prayers were said and songs were sung by the congregation and choir as they paid tribute beneath a stained-glass image of the former South African president.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate received well wishes from global figures including U.S. President Barak Obama after he was admitted to hospital before midnight on Wednesday, his third stint in hospital in four months.

The government said on Thursday he was responding well to treatment but had no new statement on his condition as of Friday morning.