Bishop Ćiril Kos (19 November 1919 – 6 July 2003) was a Croatian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

prelate who served as the Diocesan Bishop of Đakovo or Bosna and Srijem since 6 February 1974 until his retirement on 6 February 1997. He also was a political prisoner in the former communist Yugoslavia during 1959–1962.

Life

Bishop Kos was born into a Croatian Roman Catholic family of Josip and Marija (née Fadiga) in the present-day Varaždin County, but in childhood transferred with own parents and grew-up in

Harkanovci Harkanovci is a village in Croatia. It is connected by the D517 highway. Until the end of the World War II, the majority of the inhabitants were Danube Swabians, some of them came around 1865 - 1880 from Tolna County (former)-Hungary, who named ...

. After graduation of the school education in

Široki Brijeg , , nickname = , motto = , image_map = BiH municipality location Široki Brijeg.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location o ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, he consequently joined the Major Theological Seminary in

Đakovo Đakovo (; hu, Diakovár) is a town in the region of Slavonia, Croatia. Đakovo is the centre of the fertile and rich Đakovo region ( hr, Đakovština ). Etymology The etymology of the name is the gr, διάκος (diákos) in Slavic form đ ...

, and was ordained as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on July 9, 1944 for the Diocese of Bosna, Đakovo and Srijem, after completed his philosophical and theological studies. From August 1944 until the end of October of the same year, he served as chaplain in

Srijemska Mitrovica Sremska Mitrovica (; sr-Cyrl, Сремска Митровица, hu, Szávaszentdemeter, la, Sirmium) is a city and the administrative center of the Srem District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank ...

. In short, due to the circumstances of the war, he also served as the administrator of the same parish. From 1946 to 1951 he was the parish priest in Trnjani near

Garčin Garčin is a village and a municipality in Brod-Posavina County, Croatia. The total population is 4,806, distributed in the following settlements: * Bicko Selo, population 517 * Garčin, population 911 * Klokočevik, population 607 * Sapci, po ...

. From 1951 to 1959 he was a spiritual director at the his alma mater – Theological Seminary in

. Here Fr. Kos was arrested and sentenced by the communist authorities to 7 years in prison. He served his sentence in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

and Stara Gradiška from October 5, 1959 to April 5, 1962. From 1962 to 1973 he served as secretary of the Episcopal Ordinariate in Đakovo. From 1973 to 1974, he was a capitular vicar. On February 6, 1974, he was appointed by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

as the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Đakovo or Bosna and Srijem. On March 17, 1974, he was consecrated as bishop by Archbishop

Mario Cagna Mario Cagna (8 October 1911– 4 April 1986) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who devoted his entire career to the Roman Curia and the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He became an archbishop in 1962 and served as an Apostolic Nun ...

and other prelates of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in

. Retired on February 6, 1997, after reached age limit of 75 years old, and was successed by his

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

. He died at the clinical hospital in

on July 6, 2003, and was buried in the tomb of the Bishops of Đakovo and Srijem in the crypt of the cathedral-basilica in

two days later.

Life

References

Further reading