Hours before he died in a helicopter crash , NBA superstar Kobe Bryant stopped by a Roman Catholic church to pray, church officials have confirmed.

Bryant, a lifelong Catholic, paid a visit to his home parish, Our Lady Queen of Angels in Newport Beach, California, shortly before Sundays 7 a.m. Mass, Rev. Steve Sallot told CBS Los Angeles.

At around 9:45 a.m ., Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna , and seven others were killed when the helicopter they were traveling on crashed into a foggy hillside near Calabasas.

Sallot said he shook hands and chatted with Bryant for a few minutes that morning. They discussed Bryants desire to be confirmed, Sallot said. Confirmation is a sacrament in the Catholic Church that affirms and deepens ones Christian identity.

Bryant didnt stay for the morning service, the priest said.

I saw that he had blessed himself because there was a little holy water on his forehead, Sallot told CBS Los Angeles. So I knew that hed gone into the chapel to pray and came out and blessed himself. And then we spoke for a minute, shook hands, and then off he went.

Sallot said that Bryant and his family, who live in Newport Beach , frequently attended services at Our Lady Queen of Angels.

He was quite a man of faith, the priest said. Quiet about it, but certainly a man of faith.

Orange County Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Freyer wrote in a Facebook post on Monday that Bryant was a committed Catholic who loved his family and loved his faith.

Freyer told Angelus News , a website run by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, that Bryant had a trick for attending services without causing a disturbance. According to priests in Freyers diocese, the LA Lakers legend would wait until the entrance procession got halfway down the aisle before sneaking into one of the back pews and then just as quietly walk out as Mass was ending, the bishop said.

He wanted people to focus on Christs presence, not his presence, said Freyer.