Pelé’s funeral ceremonies began this Monday in Santos, Brazil, and the funeral procession, which will take place this Tuesday, will pass by the home of Maria Celeste Arantes, mother of the football legend, who turned 100 in November. It so happens that Pele’s mother does not know that her son is dead.
The revelation was made by Pelé’s sister, Maria Lúcia do Nascimento, who explains that the family made the decision not to tell her mother, due to Maria Celeste’s fragile and weak state of health, which she often does not realize what is happening around you. .
“She does not know [que ele morreu]. We talked, but she doesn’t know. She’s fine, but it’s in her world. Sometimes I say ‘O Dico [alcunha de Pelé na família] he is like that, but let’s pray for him, alright?’. He sometimes opens his eyes… but he’s not conscious,” the familiar says in an interview with ESPN.
After the vigil, with the coffin open on the lawn of Santos, the eternal club of the football legend for 24 hours, the funeral procession will take place this Tuesday through the streets of the city, with thousands of Brazilians waiting in the streets in the last farewells to crack. Until you reach the memorial cemetery of the Ecumenical necropolis, the final resting place of Pele.
Pele’s sister has also revealed the last words she heard from her brother, having stood next to the footballer when he lost consciousness and was unconscious in hospital.
“We were there with him and he knew it [que ia morrer]. He was quiet, we talked a little. But I could see how he felt and he already knew he was going to leave. Because he’s very religious, he always said, “He’s in God’s hands.” And I said ‘Exactly, he knows when the time is right’”, says Maria Lúcia do Nascimento.
