Christopher Hull Lent

Christopher Hull Lent peacefully entered eternal rest with his family by his side April 16, 2020, at home in Bethesda, MD. He is survived by his beloved wife of forty years, Mary Ann Hayes, his loving daughter, Elizabeth Hayes Lent of Denver, CO, his brother Ryck Lent, niece Eleanor Lent West, and grand-nephew Jordan, all of Waltham, MA.
Born in Kingston, NY, on January 29, 1954, Christopher was the son of Richard Waring Lent and Babette Bird Lent, both deceased. Raised in New Paltz, he attended New Paltz schools through 8th grade, and high school at Tabor Academy, Marion, MA, graduating in 1972. He attended Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY, and graduated from Maharishi International University (MIU), Fairfield, IA, in 1978. He earned a Master’s Degree in Interior Architecture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1983.
Christopher began his career as an Interior Architect in Washington, DC, at Burroughs, Roos, Grierson, followed by positions with Smith Group, Onyx, IA Interior Architects and IBI Group. He was a member of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) (1988-2020) and a Certified Facility Manager (CFM) (2000-2020). He also had a successful private practice in Residential Design and Renovation.
A skilled potter, Christopher had great appreciation for art and beauty. At Hartwick, he traveled to India for a three-month study abroad program, studying the ancient textile art, Kalamkari, later importing and exhibiting these textiles in the United States. Spending family summers on Cape Cod, he had a passion for sailing, twice participating in the Marion-Bermuda Race (1985 & 1987) with his father, brother and crew aboard his father’s sailboat.
Christopher began Transcendental Meditation in 1972, later becoming a teacher of the technique. While at MIU, an encounter with Father Thomas Keating, a Trappist Monk and pioneer of the Contemplative Movement, at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, MA, inspired his conversion to the Roman Catholic Church and, later, to pursue a vocation as a Third Order Discalced Carmelite, a religious order within the Catholic Church whose charism is based upon the mystical teachings of contemplative prayer taught by St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. He entered Formation at the Discalced Monastery in Washington, DC, taking his Definitive Promise on November 9, 2003. He was a member of the OCDS Community of the Child Jesus and the Holy Innocents in Emmitsburg, MD, serving as President (2008-2014) and Treasurer (2014-2020).
Christopher had a great devotion to St. Maria Faustina Kowalski’s message of the Divine Mercy of God, and the Holy Face of Manoppello, which, in May 2014, he visited in Italy during the annual procession of the sacred image throughout the village.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held at the Church of the Little Flower, Bethesda. Interment was at Riverside Cemetery, Wellesley Island, NY. A Memorial Service will be planned post-pandemic.
Please consider donations to: Pancreatic Cancer Action (www.pancan.org), The Hermits of Our Lady Mount Carmel (www.eremitaednmc.org), or Mount St. Vincent’s Home (www.msvhome.org).