Bretaudeau, who served in 10 parishes in the Klang Valley and Negeri Sembilan for 57 years, died in France yesterday morning.

Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur Julian Leow and the clergy of the archdiocese extended their condolences to the family of Bretaudeau, whom many said had a big heart for the needy.

Former planter Thomas Joseph, 88, who accompanied Bretaudeau on his visits to rubber estates in and around Seremban in the late 60s, said the priest worked tirelessly to uplift the lot of estate workers, particularly the Indians.

Joseph said Bretaudeau, who was the parish priest of the Church of the Visitation in Seremban from 1967 to 1977, forged a good relationship with both Catholic and non-Christian estate workers as he spoke Tamil and Bahasa Melayu.

He said Bretaudeau collaborated with the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW) and formed an organisation to give estate families a bright future.

Bretaudeau convinced the NUPW that the need for such a body was crucial as the fall in the price of rubber had badly affected the workers.

Persatuan Kemajuan Rakyat (PKR) was set up to address poverty and to provide education and employment for children of the labourers.

PKR set up the pioneer vocational institute in the state to train boys in electronics. “Separately, tailoring classes for girls were initiated,” Joseph said.

Many students from the electronics institute went on to become teachers when NUPW started another centre, he said.

As the parish priest of the Church of St John Vianney in Tampin, from 1977 to 1987, Bretaudeau did the same for estate workers in the district.

The Church of the Holy Family, Kajang, website quoted Bretaudeau as saying his pastoral work and involvement in estates in Seremban and Tampin were his “glorious years”.

Bretaudeau was ordained a priest at the age of 26 in 1956 and upon arriving in Kuala Lumpur the following year, he received his first pastoral posting at St John’s Cathedral.

To facilitate his missionary work, he studied English for a year and Tamil for two years in India.

His last posting as parish priest was at the Church of the Risen Christ at Jalan Ipoh from 2003 to 2007.

After his retirement, Bretaudeau continued active pastoral ministry as he took up residence in Sentul, Klang and Kajang until his return to France in 2014.