Skudai Catholic Center parish priest Father Christopher James Lee died on June 16. He was 56.
On June 14, the parish priest of Skudai Catholic Centre missed the Clergy Month Recollection and did not reply to texts or phone calls, so Father Lawrence Ng, his assistant parish priest, started looking for him after lunch.
At about 3.30 in the afternoon (local time), health officials pronounced Father Christopher dead after finding him unconscious on the bathroom floor.
His mother raised him on her own as a single parent and he was born in Leicester, England on October 19, 1965.
At St Paul's Institution, Seremban, he completed his Grade six in 1984 and then proceeded on to study law. The University of London awarded him his law degree in 1991.
During a retreat organized by the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocesan School of Evangelization (KLASE), he sensed God's calling to the vocation and to serve him.
He was guided by the loving care of Father Anthony Naden, one of his spiritual directors at that time. Due to his late entrance into the priesthood, Jesuit Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing accepted his application to join the priesthood in 2005 and sent him to Beda College in Rome.
In his endeavor, Father Christopher was supported by the late Father. John Gnanapiragasam was a friend and mentor to him.
In June 2009, having completed his studies, Father Christopher returned to Malaysia and served as a priest at the Church of St Francis Xavier, Melaka under Father Devadasan Madala Muthu.
On August 31, 2009, Christopher was ordained a priest.
Under the guidance of Father Anthony Ng, then Chancellor, Father Christopher studied Canon Law and the Marriage Tribunal in November 2010.
His deep devotion to the Divine Mercy led him to say he was always accompanied by Christ's mercy throughout his life.
Similarly, he preached the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and spent much of his time adoring Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
Father Christopher is described by his congregation as approachable, easy-going, and helpful.
As a lover of photography, he took pictures wherever he traveled and spent hours showing them to anyone interested.
Everyone he served was glad to have Father Christopher as a pastor.
Bishop Bernard Paul, diocese of Melaka-Johor presided over the funeral Mass at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 17. - Anbu Selvam
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