People await word on South Africa's former President Nelson Mandela after he's hospitalized

JOHANNESBURG – People in South Africa say they're worriedly awaiting further word about former President Nelson Mandela, who has been hospitalized.

On Sunday morning, worshipers gathered at the Regina Mundi Catholic church in the Soweto area of Johannesburg to pray for the frail 94-year-old icon. The church was a center of anti-apartheid protests and funerals.

South African President Jacob Zuma said in a statement Saturday that Mandela had been admitted to a hospital in Pretoria, the nation's capital, for tests. South Africa's military has taken over caring for the aging leader since he had a respiratory infection in 2011.

Mandela spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule. He became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. He's since retired from public life.