The world’s tallest vertical cemetery
Former Brazilian footballer Edson Arantes do Nascimento ‘Pelé’ has been buried in the Memorial Ecumenical Necropolis, the world’s highest vertical cemetery, after a funeral procession through the port city of Santos and a visit from more than 230,000 fans during his 24-hour wake at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium. SOURCE: (DPA/EP)
By uniformed military police
The mortal remains of ‘O Rei’, the only soccer player capable of winning the World Cup three times, were carried by military police in full dress uniforms and buried in a niche that he himself chose during his lifetime in the tower of the Memorial Ecumenical Necropolis of Santos (Brazil), the highest cemetery in the world with 16,000 tombs spread over 14 floors.
On a fire truck
Earlier, his coffin was carried on the roof of a fire truck through the streets of Santos, where numerous fans cheered the procession and waved Santos flags. The procession passed in front of the house of Pele’s 100-year-old mother, and his sister, Maria Lucia, greeted her compatriots from the balcony.
Lula attended the wake
For 24 hours, thousands of fans paid their last farewell to ‘O Rei’ at his wake at the stadium of the team of his life, Santos FC. Among them were illustrious figures such as Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Lula: «We all owe a lot to Pelé».
«We all owe something to Pelé, and Brazil owes him a lot. Besides soccer, he also taught us character, humility and dignity, and he also taught people to be more human, more supportive and more fraternal. He was born poor and black in a country where prejudices are very strong, but Pelé never cared. He always knew how to be Pelé, the best and the most humble,» said Lula in an interview with Santos’ official media.
Infantino: «Pelé was the greatest and he moved us».
For his part, Infantino announced that he would ask member countries to name a stadium after Pelé. «Children, future generations around the world, have to know who Pelé was. And then, 30, 50 or 100 years from now, when they score a goal in a stadium named after Pelé and ask who he was, we will be able to say: he was the greatest and he moved us,» Infantino said during the wake.
Three days of mourning
Pele died of cancer on Thursday at the age of 82, and the Brazilian government decreed three days of national mourning. With 77 goals in 92 international matches, Pelé remains the Seleção’s top scorer alongside Neymar.
