The Holland Mission or Dutch Mission ( or ') was the common name of a

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

missionary district in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

from 1592 to 1853, during and after the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

History

Pre-reformation diocese and archdiocese of Utrecht

According to the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'', the founding of the diocese of Utrecht dates back to

Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...

, when St.

Ecgberht of Ripon Ecgberht (or Egbert, and sometimes referred to as Egbert of Rath Melsigi) (died 729) was an Anglo-Saxon monk of Northumbria. After studying at Lindisfarne and Rath Melsigi, he spent his life travelling among monasteries in northern Britain and a ...

sent St.

Willibrord Willibrord (; 658 – 7 November AD 739) was an Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon monk, bishop, and missionary. He became the first Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580), Bishop of Utrecht in what is now the Netherlands, dying at Echternach in Luxembourg, and ...

and eleven companions on a mission to

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

, at the request of

Pepin of Herstal Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Franks, Frankish statesman and military leader who was the de facto ruler of Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke ...

. The Diocese of Utrecht () was erected by

Pope Sergius I Pope Sergius I (8 September 701) was the bishop of Rome from 15 December 687 to his death on 8 September 701, and is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. He was elected at a time when two rivals, Paschal and Theodore, were locked ...

in 695. In 695 Sergius consecrated Willibrord in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

as Bishop of the

Frisians The Frisians () are an ethnic group indigenous to the German Bight, coastal regions of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland an ...

. George Edmundson wrote, in ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'', 1911 edition, that the bishops, in fact, as the result of grants of immunities by a succession of German kings, and notably by the Saxon and Franconian emperors, gradually became the temporal rulers of a dominion as great as the neighboring counties and duchies.

John Mason Neale John Mason Neale (24 January 1818 – 6 August 1866) was an English Anglican priest, scholar, and hymnwriter. He worked on and wrote a wide range of holy Christian texts, including obscure medieval hymns, both Western and Eastern. Among his mo ...

explained, in ''History of the so-called Jansenist church of Holland'', that bishops "became warriors rather than prelates; the duties of their pastoral office were frequently exercised by suffragans, while they themselves headed armies against the Dukes of Guelders or the Counts of Holland."

Adalbold II of Utrecht Adalbold II of Utrecht (died 27 November 1026) was a bishop of Utrecht (1010–1026). Biography He was born in 975 probably in the Low Countries, and received his education partly from Notker of Liège. He became a canon of Laubach, and app ...

"must be regarded as the principal founder of the territorial possessions of the diocese," according to Albert Hauck, in ''

New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

'', especially by the acquisition in 1024 and 1026 of the counties of

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

and

Teisterbant Teisterbant was a pagus (province) of Lotharingia/Middle Francia. It was located in the present-day Netherlands, bordered by the rivers Lek and Waal. Modern-day West-Betuwe (the southern part of the province of Gelderland) shares most of the sa ...

; but, the name "

Bishopric of Utrecht The archdiocese, archbishopric, diocese or Bishopric of Utrecht may refer to: * Diocese of Utrecht (695–1580) The historic Diocese of Utrecht was a diocese of the Latin Church (or Western) of the Catholic Church from 695 to 1580, and from 1559 ...

" is not used in the article. ' was Pope Leo X's 1517 prohibition to the

Archbishop-Elector of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

Hermann of Wied Hermann of Wied (German: ''Hermann von Wied'') (14 January 1477 – 15 August 1552) was the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1515 to 1546. In 1521, he supported a punishment for German reformer Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 N ...

, as ', to summon, to a court of first instance in Cologne, Philip of Burgundy, his treasurer, and his ecclesiastical and secular subjects. Leo X only confirmed a right of the Church, explained Neale; but Leo X's confirmation "was providential" in respect to the future schism. The Bishopric ended when

Henry of the Palatinate Henry of the Palatinate (German: ''Heinrich von der Pfalz'') (Heidelberg, 14 February 1487 – Ladenburg, 3 January 1552) was Bishop of Utrecht from 1524 to 1529, Prince-Bishop of Worms from 1524 to 1552 and Prince-Bishop of Freising from 1541 ...

resigned the see in 1528 with the consent of the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

, and transferred his secular authority to

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

. The

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

s voluntarily transferred their right of electing the bishop to Charles V, and

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

gave his consent to the proceeding.

George Edmundson George Edmundson (4 February 1848 – 3 July 1930) was a clergyman of the Church of England and academic historian of the University of Oxford. He took up benefices in Northolt and Chelsea and in retirement lived in the south of France. Early ...

wrote, in ''History of Holland'', that Henry, "was compelled" in 1528 to formally surrender "the

temporalities Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a '' Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...

of the see" to Charles V.

Lordship of Utrecht

The diocese was elevated to an archdiocese in 1559. It was taken from Province of Cologne, in which it was a suffragan, and elevated to the rank of an archdiocese and metropolitan see. During the administration of the first archbishop,

Frederik V Schenck van Toutenburg Frederik Schenck van Toutenburg ( – 25 August 1580) was the first Archbishop of Utrecht from 1559 to 1580. Prior to Schenck's ministry as archbishop, Utrecht was a bishopric with a succession of sixty bishops. The last bishop of Utrecht, p ...

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

spread rapidly, especially among the nobility, who viewed with disfavor the endowment of the new bishoprics with the ancient and wealthy abbeys. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

es were attacked in the

Beeldenstorm ''Beeldenstorm'' () in Dutch and ''Bildersturm'' in German (roughly translatable from both languages as 'attack on the images or statues') are terms used for outbreaks of destruction of religious images that occurred in Europe in the 16th centu ...

in 1566. The

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

of the nineteen

Martyrs of Gorkum The Martyrs of Gorkum () were a group of 19 Dutch people, Dutch Catholic clerics, secular and religious, who were hanged on 9 July 1572 in the town of Brielle by militant Dutch Calvinists during the European wars of religion, 16th-century relig ...

Brielle Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New Maas. The for ...

in 1572 is an example of the persecution which Catholics suffered. During the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

in the

Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...

, the archdiocese fell. In the Beeldenstorm in 1580, the

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

es were victims of

iconoclastic Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

attacks and St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht, was "severely damaged". "Even though approximately one third of the people remained Roman Catholic and in spite of a relatively great tolerance," as early as 1573, the public exercise of

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

was forbidden, and the cathedral was converted into a Protestant church in 1580. The cathedral chapter survived and "still managed its lands and formed part of the provincial government" in the Lordship of Utrecht. "The newly appointed

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

s, however, were always Protestants." The two successor archbishop appointed by Spain neither received canonical confirmation nor could they enter their diocese because of the States-General opposition. The archdiocese was suppressed in 1580. Walter Phillips wrote, in ''

'', 1911 edition, the last archbishop of Utrecht,

, died in 1580, "a few months before the suppression of Roman Catholic public worship" by

William I, Prince of Orange William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

. "Suppression of dioceses," wrote Hove, "takes place only in countries where the faithful and the clergy have been dispersed by persecution," the suppressed dioceses become

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

s, or vicariates apostolic. This is what occurred in the Dutch Republic.

Apostolic Vicariate of Batavia

The Holland Mission started when the

apostolic vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

was erected by

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

in 1592. "For two centuries after the

648 __NOTOC__ Year 648 ( DCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 648 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europ ...

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

much of Holland was under apostolic vicars as mission territory, as England was in the same period; although some areas had

archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogo ...

s dependent on the

nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

s in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

." In the early 18th century there was a grave internal conflict around the apostolic vicars

Johannes van Neercassel Johannes Baptista van Neercassel (Gorinchem, 1626 – Zwolle, 6 June 1686) served as apostolic vicar of the Dutch Mission, heir of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht, from 1661 to 1686. Life Neercassel was born in Gorinchem, where his fat ...

and

Petrus Codde Pieter Codde also known as Petrus Codde (27 November 1648, in Amsterdam – 18 December 1710, in Utrecht) was apostolic vicar of the Catholic Church's Vicariate Apostolic of Batavia, also known as the Dutch Mission, from 1688 to 1702. He served ...

, who were accused of

Jansenism Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century Christian theology, theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in Kingdom of France, France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of Free will in theology, f ...

. This resulted in the founding of the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht in 1723, a

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

of several thousand leading Dutch Catholics breaking with the Roman

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. In 1725, in an attempt to stimulate the schismatic church and weaken the Catholic presence in the Netherlands, the Calvinist States General banned the apostolic vicars from the United Republic.

Mission ''sui iuris'' of Batavia

The vicariate was reduced to a mission ''sui iuris'' by

Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII (; ; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco (or Pierfrancesco) Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May 1724 to his death in ...

in 1727.it was ruled by the Apostolic Nuncios in Bruxelles until 1794, and by the Apostolic Inter-Nuncios in Netherlands between 1829 and 1853. The feudal

Lordship of Utrecht The Lordship of Utrecht was formed in 1528 when Charles V of Habsburg conquered the Bishopric of Utrecht, during the Guelders Wars. In 1528, at the demand of Henry of the Palatinate, Prince-Bishop of Utrecht, Habsburg forces under Georg Sc ...

was disestablished when the

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...

was created in 1795. There was an official freedom of religion. Churches did not have to be hidden anymore, new

seminaries A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clerg ...

for priests were founded, and several

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

were reinstated, especially after the

Concordat A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 ...

with King William I of Netherlands in 1827. The Holland Mission ended when the mission ''sui iuris'' was suppressed and the modern

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

was erected in 1853.

Modern Dutch ecclesiastical province of Utrecht

The modern Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht was erected by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

in 1853 from the territory of the mission during a restructuring which erected its

, the sole one for the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

. His 1853 papal letter ' marked the

reestablishment of the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands On 4 March 1853, Pope Pius IX restored the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands with the papal bull ''Ex qua die arcano'', Translated in after the Dutch Constitutional Reform of 1848 had made this possible. The re-establishment of the episcopal ...

. The city of Utrecht was raised, once more, to a Roman Catholic archdiocese and received the four

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

dioceses of

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

and

Roermond Roermond (; or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received City rights i ...

. Joannes Zwijsen was appointed the first modern archbishop and was also

apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the Diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch. In 1858; the

s of the dioceses were organized and in 1864 the first provincial synod was held.

List of Apostolic Vicars

Apostolic Vicars in Utrecht

Sasbout Vosmeer Sasbout Vosmeer (13 March 1548, in Delft – 3 May 1614, in Cologne) was the first apostolic vicar to the Dutch Mission and succeeded Frederik V Schenck van Toutenburg, Frederick Schenck van Toutenberg, the second Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utr ...

(1584–1614) Transcribed from *

Philippus Rovenius Philippus Rovenius (; baptised 1 January 1573, in Deventer – 10 October 1651, in Utrecht) was apostolic vicar of the Dutch Mission from 1614 to 1651. Life Rovenius studied in Leuven, and was ordained priest in 1599. In 1602 he was made presid ...

(1614–1651) * Jacobus de la Torre (1652–1660) *

Boudewijn Catz Boudewijn Catz or Cats (ca. 1601 – 18 May 1663) was apostolic vicar to the Dutch Mission from 1662 to 1663. Life Catz was born in Gorinchem. He served as vicar to the Diocese of Haarlem. The Dutch Republic was an officially Protestant country w ...

(1661–1663) *

(1663–1686) *

(1688–1702/1704) * Theodorus de Kock (1702–1704) * Gerhard Potcamp (1705) * Adam Daemen (1707–1717) * Johannes van Bijlevelt (1717–1725)

Apostolic Vicars administrating from Brussels

* Joseph Spinelli (1725–1731) * Vincentius Montalto (1731–1732) * Silvester Valenti Gonzaga (1732–1736) * Franciscus Goddard (1736–1737) * Lucas Melchior Tempi (1737–1743) * Petrus Paulus Testa (1744) * Ignatius Crivelli (1744–1755) *

Carolus Molinari Carolus may refer to: People * Carolus (name) * the medieval Latin form of the name Charles **Charlemagne (742–814) * King Charles XII of Sweden, who is sometimes referred to as "Carolus Rex" Scientific * ''Carolus'' (plant), a genus of flowe ...