Celine Dion Tearfully Pats Rene Angeli’s Body At Funeral

One week after the death of husband René Angélil, Céline Dion was joined by family, friends and fans wishing to pay their respects.

Meanwhile, Celine Dion was present at Montreal’s Notre Dame Basilica for the wake of her husband.

After the Grammy victor and her son Rene-Charles greeted the many grievers, as seen in the official memorial pics (above), the music icon made sure to issue a short statement to express her thanks for all of the support.

“But today, we’re not honouring Celine Dion’s husband, we’re honouring Rene Angelil himself, who did a lot for our culture to make it be known better all around the world”, he said.

“You left me now with enough good memories of you to share with my younger brothers”, he continued.

He noted that Angelil, knowing he was terminally ill, had planned his funeral before dying.

Angelil, who launched his wife’s career, had battled throat cancer for several years and died on 14 January, two days before his 74th birthday.

A national funeral was held at the same church, the Notre-Dame Basilica, where Dion and her husband were married in 1994.

His funeral takes place Friday afternoon.

Others attending included Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, Couillard and ex-premiers Bernard Landry and Jean Charest. They began gathering outside the basilica as early as 6am to ensure they got a seat.

“The grand and handsome history of their love”, Marier said.

The coffin was placed in a hearse outside the church while photographers snapped pictures of Dion and her sons saying goodbye.

The people of Quebec see Dion as their ambassador and Angelil was her true love, and now she has lost half of her soul, say some.

The 14-year-old hockey enthusiast spoke at his dad’s funeral on Friday at Notre-Dame Basilica, in a moment that was livestreamed across the internet.