Walking reverentially to the altar, with the "World Cup" nestled in his arm, he kneels and prays for a Brazil victory today against Germany.
Tourists and hotel staff at the Prince Hotel in Yokohama, Japan, watch respectfully as the middle-aged man slowly makes his way back down the aisle, which is flanked on either side by cascading water and fountains.
Like a holy figure, Cloves Fernandez has led his flock to the World Cup and now he is asking for deliverance.
PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES
He has carried the replica World Cup wherever the Brazilian soccer team has played during the tournament for at least 12 hours a day. It never leaves his side, he even goes to the bathroom with it.
Thousands of people have touched or kissed the World Cup since he began his pilgrimage. Many thousands more have posed for photos with him.
He greets the constant requests for photos with "love." He will offer a friendly old smile, which emerges from underneath his gaucho moustache and spreads among those who receive it.
He will murmur appreciatively and dip slightly, like a priest or monk, put his arms around his disciples and shake their hands when they have finished flashing their cameras at him.
This is the 47-year-old's fifth World Cup and he has witnessed three World Cup losses and one victory, in the US against Italy in 1994, where his prayers worked on Baggio, who missed the penalty that gave Brazil its victory.
Since leaving his native city of Porto Allegre in Brazil, Fernandez has watched all of Brazil's games in South Korea and has now taken up residence in the Prince Hotel with the Brazilian team, which treats him as a family member.
Sometimes the players or the Brazilian football confederation give him tickets for the games, other times he manages by hook or by crook to find a way in.
He has traveled with his son, Frank, who is a student in Australia, but has previously taken all his family members with him to World Cups.
His friends call him the patron saint of Brazilian soccer. "He is as well know as many of the players on the team, especially to the fans. He is like a father and a bit of a saint," said Brazil fan Albert, who is involved in marketing.
Even FIFA recognizes his presence and has unofficially made him the fans' fan of the tournament. He is often seen on TV worldwide after yet another Brazil victory, clutching the World Cup, smiling and waving beatifically.
His replica World Cup was loaned by a business acquaintance in his home city. It weighs 7.4kg, almost exactly as much as the same as the real thing. But whereas the 36cm FIFA World CupTM Trophy is made of solid 18-carat gold and two layers of semi-precious malachite, Fernandez' is made of brass.
"But, in many ways this World Cup is more important to the people because they can see and touch it," he told the Taipei Times yesterday. "Though I'm 47, I do this because it keeps me young. I do it with love, I give love and I receive love in return. It is a beautiful thing."
Fernandez has paid his way through previous World Cups in the traditional way for Brazilian fans, who live by their wits and sell T-shirts, headbands, wristbands, photos and anything else in the canary-yellow and green of the national colors. Nowadays he does not have to sell the shirt off his back, however, as he gets sponsored by businesses back home and even television companies.
Soccer is Brazil's biggest visible export and the former farmer has made a living out of supporting it, as befits a national treasure.
Next year he will go to Lima in Peru for the Copa America, South America's national tournament, where a TV company will pay him to make a documentary about his life, opinions and journey.
"I will do this by car," he said, "because it would be too easy by plane."
For Fernandez, it is the journey rather than the arrival, the taking part rather than winning, that is important.
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