Fr. Heribert Lohrengel SVD
November 29, 1937- September 23, 2025
“A humble servant, —simple, enduring, and always open.”
When the death of Father Heribert Lohrengel, SVD, was officially announced, an immediate outpouring of condolences came. Words may not have been enough to ease the grief of those he left behind, yet memories of his service—done not only well, but always from the heart, no matter the outcome—brought comfort to many who knew him.
Father Heribert was born on November 29, 1937, the first son in a family of seven children. His parents, Karl and Maria Lohrengel, ensured a good Christian upbringing for all their children. His father was also a supporter of the Hiltruper Missionaries. From 1947 to 1950, young Heribert assisted in distributing the missionaries’ publications. Before handing them out, however, he would read them with joy. He also shared his enthusiasm with Father Franz Weßling, a Divine Word Missionary in Gütersloh, with whom he served as an altar boy. Father Franz told him about the mission house of St. Xaver in Bad Driburg, where he could also attend school. Heribert was very interested, and so in May 1951, he entered the mission house as a student.
In 1958, he graduated with his Abitur (high school diploma). Afterward, he entered the novitiate of the Divine Word Missionaries in Sankt Augustin, where he also studied philosophy and theology. On May 1, 1964, he professed perpetual vows in Sankt Augustin and was ordained a priest on October 17, 1964.
With his assignment to the Philippines, a great wish of his heart was fulfilled. He had always longed to serve as a priest and pastor on the island of Mindoro. After a pastoral year in the parish of St. Magdalena in Ottobrunn near Munich, where he worked as a chaplain, he traveled on February 13, 1967, together with confrere Father Ewald Dinter, SVD, aboard the ship Borneo from Rotterdam to the missions. On April 8, they arrived in Manila. Bishop Duschak appointed him chaplain in San José, in western Mindoro. For him, it was a wonderful time— “like the Wild West,” as he often said. His mission territory encompassed 49 villages on the mainland of Mindoro and the two nearby islands of Iling and Ambulong. In May 1969, he was transferred to Bongabong in eastern Mindoro as a chaplain. Altogether, he worked for 44 years as a priest and pastor in eastern Mindoro, experiencing all the highs and lows that came with it.
Father Heribert was a gifted builder. During his time, he built churches and more than 40 chapels in five different parishes, as well as schools, multipurpose halls, and parish houses. Alongside this, he initiated social programs to alleviate suffering after typhoons. Later, he initiated long-term projects, including credit unions, cooperatives, a “piglet bank,” livestock programs, the planting of fruit trees as an alternative to coconut monoculture, and even fishponds.
Yet his legacy was not only material. Father Heribert cared deeply for the inner growth of Christian communities. He taught religion in public elementary and high schools, trained catechists, and offered basic and ongoing religious education for adults in Basic Ecclesial Communities. Additionally, he taught religion in both his own high school and other private schools. He regularly celebrated Masses, prepared people for the sacraments, and journeyed with Basic Ecclesial Communities in all the villages of the parish. In addition to his pastoral work, he served for 19 years in school administration, including 15 years as school director and on occasion as a teacher.
After his years in school leadership, he spent 26 years in vicariate administration, alongside parish work, 16 of which were as financial secretary. He helped set up structures that would transform a mission territory into a diocese and shepherd the transition from missionary leadership to diocesan clergy. Today, all leadership offices are held by diocesan priests. Father Heribert was a member of the Mission Council, the highest advisory body to the bishop, for 40 years, and sat on the Finance Council for 26 years.
Later, he withdrew from active parish work and lived in the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay. There, he stepped in whenever the rector or spiritual director was absent and helped raise funds for seminarians. During his tenure at Catholic Trade in Tayuman, he managed investments for the Vicariate of Calapan. He also carefully monitored the vicariate’s budget.
In recent years, his health deteriorated severely. The superiors decided to transfer Father Heribert back to the German Province, so he could receive treatment and spend his final years there. In 2024, he returned first to St. Augustin and later moved to St. Wendel, where the retirement home of the Divine Word Missionaries is located. After so many years in the Philippines and such an active missionary life, it was difficult for him to settle back in his homeland.
Despite the onset of Alzheimer’s disease at the advanced age of 88, Father Heribert faced the challenge with remarkable resilience. With the professional care of the Wendelinusheim staff, he was able to live out his final years with dignity. On September 23, 2025, at 6:30 a.m., after a serious cancer illness, he peacefully completed his earthly life, a testament to his strength and determination.
“Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.” Father Heribert’s heart was truly in Mindoro, and his treasure is in the people whose lives he touched as priest, builder, and pastor. His life of service, like a bahay kubo—simple, welcoming, and enduring—remains a lasting image of his deep emotional connection to the Filipino people and their land.
This obituary was adapted from the GER Province text written by Fr. Vaclac Mucha, SVD.
