Zagreb (IKA) – On September 28, the Rev. Lorand Kilbertus, a member of the Croatian Province of the Society of Jesus, succumbed to injuries sustained in an automobile accident as he was returning to Belgrade from a visit to Zagreb. On October 1, a memorial service was held at the Church of St. Peter in Belgrade before his body was transported to Zagreb for burial. The memorial service was attended by a large number of the faithful and friends of the departed. A Requiem Mass was conducted by the apostolic nuncio in Serbia and Montenegro, Archbishop Eugenio Sbarbaro. Fra Leopold Rohmes, the general vicar of the Archdiocese of Belgrade, also paid his respects. Archbishop Irinej Bulović of Bačka, a member of the Holy Archiepiscopal Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, attended on behalf of the leadership of the Serbian Orthodox Church and his own behalf. He bid farewell to the departed , as he said, “in the name of the spiritual bonds that crossed my life with that of Fr. Lorand.” Representatives of other religious communities also attended. For this occasion, an improvised choir of Serbian Orthodox priests and students at the Orthodox Theological College in Belgrade sang part of the service for the departed according to the Byzantine rite. The choir of the Church of St. Peter bid farewell to Pater Lorand Kilbertus by performing several of his compositions.

On October 5, the Rev. Lorand Kilbertus was buried at the cemetery of Mirogoj in Zagreb. The funeral service and subsequent Requiem Mass in the Basilica of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus were conducted by the Archbishop of Belgrade, Stanislav Hočevar, who especially left the Synod of Bishops in Rome for this purpose. At the gravesite, the funeral oration was delivered by the provincial of the Croatian Province of the Society of Jesus, the Rev. Ivan Koprek.

Archbishop Hočevar delivered an inspired sermon during the Requiem Mass, stressing the human, priestly and musical qualities of the departed, and his contribution to the pastoral work in Belgrade. Approximately thirty priests concelebrated. Ambassadors of the Knights of Malta from Belgrade and Zagreb were also present. Fellow Jesuits sang during the funeral service. During the Requiem Mass, the Palma Academic Choir sang works composed by the late Pater Kilbertus.

Lorand Kilbertus was born on September 25, 1928 in Sečenovo (today Dužine) in Banat, Vojvodina. His father, Filip, was of German origin and his mother, Vilma, was of Hungarian origin. From 1935 to 1939, he attended elementary school while living with his parents. From 1939 to 1947, he was a boarding student at the Archdiocesan Boys’ Seminary and Classical Secondary School on Šalata in Zagreb. In 1947, he entered the Society of Jesus, where he completed his novitiate from 1947 to 1949 and studied philosophy from 1949 to 1952. After compulsory military service in Sarajevo, he became a teacher at the seminary on Šalata from 1953 to 1954. He also studied theology in Zagreb from 1954 to 1958. In 1957, he was ordained to the priesthood. From 1958 to 1959, he completed his final Jesuit formation (the so-called third probation) in Dubrovnik. From 1959 to 1960, he served as a catechist in Zagreb at the Basilica of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and from 1960 to 1961 in Telep, Novi Sad. From 1961 to 1966, he was a music teacher at the seminary on Šalata in Zagreb. From 1966 to 1973, he was the curate of the parish of St. Peter on Makedonska Street in Belgrade. From 1973 to 1986, he performed pastoral activities in Zagreb, where he was also in charge of the liturgical music at the Basilica of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1986, he returned to Belgrade, first as the parish vicar (until 1991), later as the parish priest and superior (1991 to 2000), and then as a pastoral worker until his untimely death.

In Belgrade, where he worked the longest, his linguistic gifts were put to good use. His pastoral activity included not only persons from Belgrade but also the members of the various embassies. Besides the Croatian and Serbian languages, he spoke German, Hungarian, English, French, Italian and Latin. Pater Kilbertus was known for his serenity, nobility and refinement. He was obliging and always ready to help anyone, equally close to simple as well as learned persons. Everyone loved him for this. Besides music, he was also gifted in drawing and sculpture. He enjoyed discussions of philosophical and theological questions, revealing enviable knowledge and sophistication. He had a broad worldview and was very open ecumenically, one of founders of the Inter-Religious Center in Belgrade. He often visited the sick (including the gravely ill and AIDS patients), preached and catechized. He was responsible for the music in the church and served as the spiritual adviser to the Knights of Malta.

Lorand Kilbertus received his basic musical education from his parents. His father was an organist and introduced him to the liturigical events in the church at an early age. Pater Kilbertus emphasized that the composer Miroslav Magdalenić, his music teacher at the seminary, had a crucial influence on his musical development. After Magdalenić left the seminary in 1941, there was no one to provide the young Lorand with systematic musical training at school. As a secondary school student, he listened to the famous organist of the Zagreb cathedral, Franjo Dugan, and was particularly impressed by his improvisations. When Pater Kilbertus became a music teacher at the seminary on Šalata in 1953/54, he began systematic musical instruction under Maestro Albe Vidaković, which he continued under restricted circumstances while also studying theology (1954 to 1958). During the period of his pastoral activity at the Basilica of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Zagreb, he composed his first collection of hymns (1959–1960). While in Novi Sad, 1960 to1961, he began work on a second collection, and from 1961 to 1966 he composed a third collection of hymns on Šalata in Zagreb. During the period from 1966 to 1973, he composed his first Mass while in Belgrade. He also continued work on his method for organ study, which quickly produced good results in practice. During the period when he returned to Zagreb, 1973 to 1986, when he was in charge of liturgical music at the Basilica of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, he published a book on his method for organ study and composed a second Mass. After returning to Belgrade in 1986, he stopped composing.

It should also be mentioned that the Rev. Lorand Kilbertus was also an expert in organ building and repair. While in Zagreb, he had a great influence on the famous Italian organ builder Gustav Zanin, who enlarged the organ in the Basilica of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Belgrade artistic circles note that Pater Kilbertus made a significant contribution to the cultural life there as a composer and organist, especially.