Brazilians paid several tributes to football legend Pelé on Friday, one year after the three-time World Cup winner's death at age 82 due to a colon cancer.
A ceremony held at Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer, one of the South American nation's most famous postcard locations, featured a projection of a Brazil shirt with Pelé's name and number 10 on the statue and a message from Pope Francis. Pelé was a devout Catholic throughout his life.
“Pelé, as Mr. Edson Arantes do Nascimento became globally known, was undoubtedly an athlete who showed in his life all positive traits of a sportsman. The memory of ‘the King of Football’ remains indelible in the minds of many, and it stimulates new generations to seek in sport a means to strengthen the bonds of unity among us,” the pontiff said in a letter as a local orchestra played.
