Reestablishment of the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands

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Pope Pius IX reestablished the hierarchy

On 4 March 1853, Pope Pius IX restored the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands with the papal bull Ex qua die arcano,[1] after the Dutch Constitutional Reform of 1848 had made this possible. The re-establishment of the episcopal hierarchy led to the April movement [nl] protest in 1853.[2]

Disestablishment of the Catholic Church

After becoming head of state of the

Friesland), they would form the northern ecclesiastical province of Utrecht. Roermond and 's-Hertogenbosch became part of the southern ecclesiastical province
of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen (further roughly including present Belgium).

After the

apostolic vicar. 's-Hertogenbosch later also became an apostolic vicariate when normal episcopal administration became impossible after the Westphalian Peace of Münster
in 1648.

After initial persecution, Catholics were eventually tolerated, especially in the larger cities, as long as they would not openly profess Catholicism. In many cities, Catholics went to Mass in clandestine churches, which had exteriors that were not recognisable as churches.

Prelude to the re-establishment

The de jure position of the Catholic Church in the Netherlands improved when the

separation of Church and State in 1796. The different denominations would have equal rights. Some of the Catholic church buildings, which the Protestants seized in the 16th century, were returned. The Catholic community began to organise itself again; newspapers, magazines and schools were created. State regulation remained however: wearing clerical clothing
in public and ringing church bells were not allowed for example.

Apostolic Vicariate of Grave-Nijmegen in 1801. The Vicariate of Ravenstein-Megen, then part of the Diocese of Liège, became the Apostolic Vicariate of Ravenstein-Megen
.

The "Ministry of Roman Catholic Worship Affairs" (Dutch: Ministerie van Zaken der Rooms-Katholieke Eredienst) was founded in the Kingdom of Holland. The king received certain rights to intervene in ecclesiastical organisation. From 1812 - at this point the Netherlands was a part of Napoleon I Bonaparte's Franch Empire - the so-called "extinction acts" (Dutch: uitstervingsbesluiten) would prevent monasteries from accepting new members, its ultimate purpose being the elimination of monastic orders.

Restoration of the Catholic Church

Concordat of 1827

Joannes Zwijsen
, first Archbishop of Utrecht, after the re-establishment of the hierarchy

In 1827, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands reached an agreement with Pope Leo XII about the re-establishment of the dioceses in the Netherlands.[b] This concordat established two dioceses in the northern Netherlands:

  • Diocese of Den Bosch
    , including the provinces of North Brabant, Zeeland and Gelderland
  • Archdiocese of Amsterdam, including the northernmore rest of the Netherlands, with the exception of Limburg, as Limburg and the province of Liège (in feudal times both largely in the
    Diocese of Liège
    , suffragan to the Archdiocese of Mechelen.

The concordat even contained complete plans for a cathedral on Nieuwmarkt square in Amsterdam, but these were not realised because of the Belgian Revolution, among other reasons.

King William I though, reaffirmed the restrictions that were imposed earlier on the monasteries. Protestant politicians were also not unanimously in favour of a restored Catholic hierarchy. However, in 1833 a suffragan bishop was appointed to the Dutch Mission. Although Bishop Cornelis van Wijckerslooth [nl] had no diocese, he had all the powers of a bishop, such as administering the sacrament of Confirmation, ordaining priests and consecrating churches.

When the

Joannes Zwijsen
was appointed bishop, and was given control over the vicariates Grave-Nijmegen and Ravenstein-Megen. The latter appointment was seemingly made after personal intervention by King William II. William II was more favorable towards the Catholics and put an end to restrictive legislation for the monasteries.

Complete restoration

In 1847, a number of prominent Roman Catholics called for a normalisation of the Dutch ecclesiastical administration. Bishop Wijckerslooth and the bishop of Liège,

Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in December 1852. Pope Pius IX
approved the plan, and in 1853 it was implemented. This was the end of the Dutch Mission in the north and the apostolic vicariates in the south.

Zwijsen was appointed

archiepiscopal see was established in Utrecht. The dioceses of Groningen-Leeuwarden and of Rotterdam
were founded later in 1956.

See also

  • Roman Catholicism in the Netherlands

Notes

  1. ^ See "Napoleon's concordat (1801): text". concordatwatch.eu. Translated from French by Muriel Fraser. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-07-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) Translated from "Convention entre sa Sainteté Pie VII, et le Gouvernement français". napoleon.org (in French). Fondation Napoléon. 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-01-08.
  2. OCLC 38329195
    .

References

  1. OCLC 80498785
    .
  2. ^ "The hierarchy in Holland". The Tablet. London. 1953-05-16. p. 20. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2014-07-07.

Further reading

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