Johannes Zwijsen (Zwysen) (28 August 1794 – 16 October 1877) was a Dutch Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Utrecht after 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 ...

in 1853.

Early life and priesthood

Johannes Zwijsen was born on 28 August 1794 in

Tilburg Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...

. Zwijsen was ordained a deacon on 19 January 1817, and priest on 20 December 1817. He would first serve as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Schijndel Schijndel () is a town and former municipality in the province of North Brabant, in the south of the Netherlands. Schijndel is located approximately southeast of 's-Hertogenbosch. Schijndel was founded on 6 December 1309. On 1 January 2017 Schijn ...

, after which he would become a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

in Tilburg. During his time in Tilburg, he met the then

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

William II of the Netherlands William II (; English: William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849), known as Koning Willem de Tweede or Koning Willem II in the Netherlands, was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg. Wi ...

. A strong friendship formed between the two, so strong even that some contemporaries implied a

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

relationship. However, this seems to be founded merely in rumors. This unique bond that he shared with the king reached a culmination when he attended him at his deathbed in 1849. During this friendship with William II, Zwijsen became acquainted with the Dutch government, with people as Johan Rudolph Thorbecke in particular.

Titular bishop and apostolic vicar

On 17 April 1842, he was consecrated

Titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Geras and

Coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

of the

Apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

of s-Hertogenbosch, at Church of Saint Denis in Tilburg, by baron Cornelius Ludovicus van Wijkerslooth, ordaining

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

for the Netherlands. Zwijsen took as his episcopal motto: ''Mansuete et fortiter'', mild and strong. He would live up to this motto by keeping his head down whenever he got into conflict with the

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

population, even once telling

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 ...

that the best way to achieve anything in his country was to do it silently. This did not mean he sat on his hands. He founded the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of Mercy as a teaching order, and the Brothers of Our Lady Mother of Mercy to carry out works of charity and works of mercy. In 1847 he was appointed Apostolic vicar of the

Dutch Mission The Holland Mission or Dutch Mission ( or ') was the common name of a Catholic Church missionary district in the Low Countries from 1592 to 1853, during and after the Protestant Reformation in the Netherlands. History Pre-reformation diocese a ...

(Hollandse Zending), until 1848.

First Archbishop of Utrecht

When Pope Pius IX, with the apostolic letter "''Ex qua die''", reorganized the

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 ...

of the Netherlands,

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

was raised once more to an archbishopric, and Zwijsen was named the first

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

; as administrator he also ruled the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

'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 ...

. His connection to the Dutch government, one he had obtained through his friendship with William II, was most probably a factor in this appointment. He took up with great energy and caution the organization of the restored

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

, even though he had preferred it to be based in s-Hertogenbosch. By numerous excellent decrees he provided for the improvement of discipline, the encouragement of

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

and of church associations and for the establishment of

Catholic 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 ...

schools. In 1857 opened the diocesan seminary for the training of a competent clergy. In 1858 the cathedral chapters of the archdiocese were organized and in 1864 the first provincial

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

was held.

Resignation and death

Zwijsen resigned as archbishop of Utrecht on 4 February 1868, retaining only the direction of the diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch. Here he remained bishop until his death on 16 October 1877.

References

External links

Archbishop Johannes Zwijsen (Zwysen)
from Catholic Hierarchy , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Zwijsen, Johannes 1794 births 1877 deaths People from Maasdriel Archbishops of Utrecht 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Netherlands Roman Catholic titular bishops of Geras Dutch Roman Catholic archbishops