Celine Dion put on a brave face and greeted hundreds of mourners at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal on Thursday, January 21, during a public wake for her late husband, René Angélil, just ahead of his funeral, scheduled for Friday, January 22.
The French-Canadian singer, 47, wore her hair up in a simple bun with a thin black headband and veil for the occasion, sharing words of comfort and thanks with relatives, fans, and public figures as they filed past Angélil’s open casket.
The visitation was live-streamed, with cameras frequently trained on Dion’s gaunt face.
Outside of the church, fans and other attendees were greeted by a giant portrait of the late music producer.
A national funeral for Angélil will be held at the same location on Friday, and will be live-streamed for fans around the world.
“From anywhere across the globe, it will be possible to follow René Angélil’s state funeral online tomorrow,” Dion tweeted on Thursday, along with a link to a website made in his honor.
Both the wake and the funeral will be held at the Notre-Dame Basilica, the same place where the pair tied the knot back in 1994.
Angélil died at his home in Nevada at the age of 73 on Thursday, January 14, following a long battle with throat cancer.
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer has shared sweet words about him in the days since losing her longtime love.
“Surrounded by the love of his family and friends, René Angélil passed away on Thursday, January 14, 2016, on the eve of his 74th birthday,” she wrote in a touching post on Facebook on Friday, January 15. “He will be remembered as a gentle man, generous and kind, an unprecedented visionary, a modern Pygmalion, a renaissance man. All who had the privilege of knowing him and of working closely with him, whether personally or professionally, salute a leader and a man of great intelligence and wisdom.”
