South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, is still being treated under intensive care unit due to a persistent lung infection, CNN reported.

According to a statement released by the South African president's office on Saturday, "the 94-year-old former leader was in a serious but stable condition."

Come Monday, the same office said that his conditions remained "unchanged".

According to reports, he was breathing without any aid from machines and his former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, never left his side the whole day of Monday. Also, his daughter and South African Ambassador to Argentina flew back to South America to be with him.

Meanwhile, South Africans spent the whole day of Sunday praying and attending healing masses for Mr. Nelson Mandela, their founding father of South Africa's democracy.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said that, "He has taught us... that we enhance our own humanity when we serve and make a difference to other people's lives. It's easy to serve oneself, own interests, but serving the interests of others, making their lives better changes the quality of all humanity."

At the same time, sympathy and condolences came from all over the world.

The world had recognized Mr. Nelson Mandela as South Africa's first black president and admired him for keeping with his word to serve only one term. The world put him in pedestal when he suffered 27 years in prison for "fighting against apartheid, the country's system of racial segregation."

Since South Africa's hosting of World Cup in 2010, Mr. Nelson Mandel had shied away from the public eye. However, the people did not forget him and was in fact hailed as the hero of democracy. Just this 2012, recently released bank notes in South Africa were published with a picture of Mr. Nelson Mandela smiling. The banknotes were testament to him being the nation's icon.

After he served his term, Mr. Nelson Mandela went beyond the border of South Africa and mediated with conflicts happening from Africa to Middle East.

Mr. Nelson Mandela had received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Battle against Sickness

Mr. Mandela had reportedly been coming in and out of hospital within the past years and each incident of hospitalization sparked concern not just with South Africans but from people around the world who recognized his contribution to history.

Even when he was home every after hospitalization, he continued to use medical equipments in his house - this was how bad his condition of lung disease was.

Local South Africa's Sunday Times came with the headline "It's time to let him go." The paper featured Mr. Nelson Mandela's good friend Mr. Andre Mlangeni encouraging South Africans to let go of their democratic icon.

As how Mr. Mlangeni put it, "You (Mandela) have been coming to the hospital too many times. Quite clearly you are not well and there is a possibility you might not be well again. Once the family releases him, the people of South Africa will follow. We wil say thank you, God, you have given us this man, and we will release him too."

Mr. Nelson Mandela's lung problems started during the time when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during his fight against apartheid. He had episodes of respiratory infections almost yearly. In fact, just last year was his longest hospitalization since his imprisonment in 1990.