CNN has just confirmed the tragic news: former South African president Nelson Mandela, a pioneer in the ending of the South African practice known as apartheid, has just passed away. 

Nelson Mandela, the revered statesman who emerged from prison after 27 years to lead South Africa out of decades of apartheid, has died, South African President Jacob Zuma announced late Thursday. He was 95. 

The former president battled health issues in recent months, including a recurring lung infection that led to numerous hospitalizations. With advancing age and bouts of illness, Mandela retreated to a quiet life at his boyhood home in the nation's Eastern Cape Province, where he said he was most at peace. 

"He is now resting. He is now at peace," Zuma said. "Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father. What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves."

Mandela will have a state funeral. Zuma ordered all flags in the nation to be flown at half-staff from Friday through that funeral. 

During his last public appearance in July, Mandela spoke about how he would like to be remembered. "I would like to be remembered not as anyone unique or special, but as part of a great team in this country that has struggled for many years, for decades and even centuries," he said. "The greatest glory of living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall." 

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mandela family, and the entire nation of South Africa, during this undoubtedly difficult time.