The Oudenbosch Basilica is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

in the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Oudenbosch Oudenbosch () is a town in the Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of Halderberge in the west of the Dutch province of North Brabant. Oudenbosch is well known for its Oudenbosch Basilica, 'Basiliek', a Catholic church that is a smaller ...

. The basilica is named after

Agatha of Sicily Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are commemorated by name in the Canon of the Ma ...

and Barbara of Nicomedia, two Christian martyrs from the third century. It was built at the initiative of Willem Hellemons who was

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

between 1842 and 1884. Its nave and interior were modeled after

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

, while the facade is a replica of the

Basilica of St. John Lateran The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (officially the ''Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of A ...

, both located 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, ...

. The basilica was designed by architect

Pierre Cuypers Petrus Josephus Hubertus "Pierre" Cuypers (16 May 1827 – 3 March 1921) was a Dutch architect. His name is most frequently associated with the Amsterdam Central Station (1881–1889) and the Rijksmuseum (1876–1885), both in Amsterdam. ...

. Construction began in 1865 but was not fully completed until 1892. The basilica is unique in the region in that it is relatively large with a classical Italian appearance that is atypical for most of northern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, let alone a small town in

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

. Dutch

Papal Zouave The Papal Zouaves () were an infantry battalion (later regiment) dedicated to defending the Papal States. Named after the French zouave regiments, the ' were mainly young men, unmarried and Catholic, who volunteered to assist Pope Pius IX in his s ...

s and local Catholics gathered in Oudenbosch and left for Rome in 1868 to defend the

Papal State The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct Sovereignty, sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy fro ...

against

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

's Italian nationalist army. Therefore

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 ...

agreed to build a relatively big basilica in a small place. Originally a church, it was designated a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

in 1912. A piece of the cloak

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

wore during the 1981 assassination attempt is kept there as a relic. Elements inspired by their counterparts in Rome include Michelangelo's ''Pietà'', Bernini's baldachin, the

Chair of Saint Peter The Chair of Saint Peter (), also known as the Throne of Saint Peter, is a relic conserved in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the sovereign enclave of the Pope inside Rome, Italy. The relic is a wooden throne that tradition claims belonged ...

, and

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

's ''Gloria''.

Gallery

Oudenbosch, de Basiliek van de Heiligen Agatha en Barbara RM31938 foto6 2015-05-30 17.20.jpg File:Koepel Basiliek van de H.H. Agatha en Barbara Oudenbosch.jpg, Dome File:Oudenbosch Basiliek H. Agatha en H. Barbara Innen Langhaus Ost 4.jpg, Interior of the Basilica File:Oudenbosch Basiliek H. Agatha en H. Barbara Innen Langhaus West 4.jpg, Interior of the Basilica with the pipe organ

References

External links

Video of the HH. Agatha en Barbara Basiliek

Video of the H.H. Agatha and Barbara
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oudenbosch Basilica churches in the Netherlands Churches in North Brabant Rijksmonuments in North Brabant Halderberge Roman Catholic churches completed in 1892 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Netherlands Church buildings with domes Neoclassical architecture in the Netherlands