Father Steve Sallot of Our Lady of the Angels Church in Newport Beach, Orange County, told local media the Kobe athlete father and son went to the church to pray for a while before Mass began. Father Sallot told local TV channel KABC-TV: “He arrived before 7 a.m. Mass, which was our first Mass of the day. He prayed in the chapel before Mass and he left around 7 to 10.”
Athlete Kobe does not hide his Catholic faith, he is a regular member of the diocese of Orange County. Bishop Timothy Freyer of the diocese honored him on his twitter page: “Kobe is a committed Catholic, he loves his family and loves the faith. He is a long-time resident of Orange County and a parishioner of our diocese. He went to Mass and often sat at the back of the church so that his presence would not distract others, he wanted them to focus on the presence of Christ.”
Father David Barnes, director of the Newman Center at Boston University, said he was moved by the prayer witness of the athlete Kobe, a silent but living witness of faith.
On the way to the youth basketball game, seven people on the flight were killed when the helicopter crashed. The weather conditions were bad that day, it was cloudy.
Parishioners of the Church of Our Lady of the Angels prayed the rosary for those who lost their lives. CBS Los Angeles said all the victims were dear members of the Orange County community.
One of the victims was Christina Mauser, the coach of the Harbor Day School team in Corona del Mar. She helped Mr. Bryant coach his daughter's basketball team. Mauser is the mother of three children.
Pilot Ara Zoboyan is a famous flight instructor in Huntington Beach, California.
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