Albin Kjuder
(1893–1967)
Albin Kjuder was born on 25 February 1893 in Dutovlje where he completed primary school. He continued his education at the German classical grammar school in Trieste. During his studies, he lived with his uncle Anton Kjuder who was a pastor in Barkovlje. After completing his exams, he attended the Gorizia Seminary, which moved to Stična during the war.
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Kjuder completed his theology studies in Ljubljana. In 1916, he became a priest. He was first a chaplain in Barkovlje with his uncle and then served as a Slovenian chaplain at Old Saint Antonio in Trieste. He taught religion at elementary schools and worked as a notary at the diocesan administration. He was also a chaplain in the main Trieste hospital. Soon after that, Kjuder started working as a parish priest and dean in Tomaj, the so-called Karst Vatican that had a mighty parish church and a monastery of school sisters. For the following 43 years – until death – he continued his work as a parish priest in his local area. He was one of the leading priests in the Primorska region that resisted the italization of this area. He is also noted in history books as a librarian because he set up a big library in Tomaj, including a large number of books, a rich periodical collection and archives, which can now be found in the Vipava Diocesan Gymnasium. Kjuder used his library resources for his written work, which remained largely unpublished. From his legacy, the following works were preserved: the Historical Mosaic of the Primorska Region, The History of Tomaj and the Surrounding Area from 1600 to 1960, Anecdotes from Tomaj and the Biography of 43 Priests.
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In 1955, Kjuder became an apostolic delegate for the Yugoslav part of the Trieste-Koper Diocese under the supervision of the Ljubljana bishop. He was soon appointed as a prelate and received all bishop rights. His episcopal motto was “Pax – vita et salus perpetua”. In 1961, he started working as the apostolic administrator for the Slovenian part of the Trieste-Koper Diocese and for the Slovenian part of the Reka Diocese. He believed that he will also be appointed as a titular bishop, which did not happen. After joining the Solkan and the Trieste Administrative Council in 1964, the Holy See gave the latter position to Monsignor Janez Jenk. For all his work, Kjuder was rewarded with a new title of a protonotary apostolic ad interim. On 12 March 1967, Kjuder died in the Sežana hospital.
Sources:
Slovenian Biographical Lexicon of the Primorska Region 1982
TAVČAR 2005
Slovenian Biographical Lexicon of the Primorska Region 1982
TAVČAR 2005