ᑕ❶ᑐ Understand how Pelé’s body was preserved for five days before burial
Pelé was buried at the Ecumenical Necropolis Memorial in Santos last Tuesday, five days after his death. To preserve the king’s body during all this time, embalming was used, a method that has already been applied to the bodies of Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Benedict XVI, who died on December 31.
The technique consists of repairing and preserving organic matter after death. This allows the body to be transported over long distances or even to extend the funeral, giving the possibility to distant family members to participate, for example, as explained by Nelson Pereira Neto, strategic director of the funeral service of Grupo Bom Pastor, partner of the Memorial.
« It’s a minimally invasive method that respects the fluid integrity of the body, in which a formaldehyde-based fluid is injected into a vein, » he said.
The former player’s body remained veiled for 24 hours, a period during which he received the affection of more than 250,000 people, authorities, friends and family.
In Tanatopraxia, the professional uses equipment that circularizes the fluid in the body. Then another device is used to suck out some of the fluid and blood. The fractions that remain in the body. In addition to conservation, the technique aims to prevent the spread of contagious diseases and conditions.
Although having a similar concept to embalming, the procedures are different. Embalming, for example, does not require the removal of all organs, as in the other method.
Embalming was created in the 19th century, during the Civil War, in the United States, with the aim of transporting the bodies of dead soldiers. She improves and arrives in Brazil in 1993.
« Certain aspects are also priced into account before the intervention procedure, such as weight, cause of death and desired shelf life. Thanks to her, we managed to thunder an appearance of calm and drowsiness to the deceased. It helps comfort the family in their pain for the loss of a loved one, which is the main goal of the technique,” said Neto, who was one of the professionals who performed embalming on Pelé.
After confirming the death of the king, on December 29, the best rendered by the medical team of the Albert Einstein Hospital, in São Paulo, to carry out the intervention. The Santos idol also underwent necro-makeup, which helps make him look close to his lifetime. The body was then covered with sheets and placed in an air-conditioned room until transport, which took place on Monday morning.
