Kobe Bryant and daughter Gigi prayed together at Catholic mass at their local church hours before they both died in the tragic helicopter crash, it has been revealed.
The basketball legend and 13-year-old Gigi went to the 7am service at the Our Lady Queen of Angels in Newport Beach.
They both received Communion.
The father and daughter left the church and soon afterwards boarded the S-76 Sikorsky helicopter piloted by Ara Zobyan which was taking them to the Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks for Gigi’s basketball practice before it crashed.
A spokesman for Our Lady Queen of Angels confirmed to DailyMail.com that Kobe was at the early morning service Sunday.
One parishioner, who attended a later mass at the church, wrote on social media: ‘During mass, our priest informed us all that Kobe Bryant and his daughter attended mass this morning at the Our Lady Queen of Angels.’
And Father David Barnes, a Catholic priest in Boston, Massachusetts also confirmed Kobe’s attendance.
In a moving Facebook post Bishop Timothy Freyer, of the Orange Diocese, who is currently in Rome meeting the Pope, said Kobe was a ‘committed Catholic’ who ‘loved his faith’.
He said: ‘Our hearts remain heavy after the tragic loss suffered in the wake of yesterday’s helicopter crash in Calabasas.
‘We pray and mourn for the friends and family of the victims who have been publicly identified in news reports: Basketball icon Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna.
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