St. John's Cathedral

About

The Cathedral Church of St. John (Sint-Janskathedraal), is a Catholic cathedral in 's-Hertogenbosch, North Brabant. The cathedral serves as the seat for the bishopric of 's-Hertogenbosch. The church is considered to be the largest cathedral in the Netherlands, and one of the greatest examples of Brabantine Gothic architecture in Europe.

Construction of the first St. John's church is thought to have started in 1185 and to have been finished in 1340. Built in a Romanesque style, the church was ordered by Henry I, Duke of Brabant and stood on the same spot where the St. John now stands. St. John's started as a parish church and was dedicated to St. John Evangelist. In 1366, it was elevated to a collegiate church.

In about 1340, construction was initiated to reconstruct the church to accommodate the growing religious presence in the city. The new cathedral would be rebuilt entirely in a Gothic architecture style. The apse chapels and outer choir aisles were completed first, followed by the transept and choir in 1450. By 1505, the Romanesque church had largely been demolished, leaving only its tower. Construction of the cathedral finished about the year 1525.

In the sixteenth century the Reformation inspired the Catholic church to implement its own reforms. In 1559 St. John's became the cathedral of the new diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch. The parish of St. John used to contain almost the whole city. In 1569 it became smaller by splitting of new parishes centered on St. Catherine's Church, Old St. James' Church and Old St. Peter's Church.

In 1584, a fire broke out in the high, wooden, crossing tower. Soon the whole tower was set ablaze, and it collapsed upon the cathedral itself, taking with it much of the roof up to point where the organ was situated.

After the Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch in 1629, the exercise of the Catholic religion was banned. Priests had to perform their ministry in secret and were often on the run from the authorities. The bishopric of 's-Hertogenbosch got Joseph de Bergaigne ordained as new bishop in 1641, but this was done in Brussel. After the 1648 Peace of Westphalia the diocese became an Apostolic vicariate and no new bishops were appointed.

For St. John's, 1629 meant that it was given to the Protestant Church in the city. The number of Protestants in 's-Hertogenbosch then grew back to about 20% of the population. This would prove to be a too a small base to maintain all churches. St. John's came to be in a heavily dilapidated state, partly due a lack of funds to maintain the building.

The French period began in 1794, when the French Revolutionary army conquered ’s-Hertogenbosch. ’s-Hertogenbosch thus became a part of the Batavian Republic. Catholic citizens got equal rights, and North Brabant got an equal representation in the government. However, this did not mean that the Protestants lost ownership of St. John's. The city was added to the French Empire in March 1810.

In April 1810 Napoleon decreed a new bishopric of ’s-Hertogenbosch with almost the same borders as current North Brabant province. Mathias Franciscus van Camp was his second appointee, and the first to reach the city. When Napoleon visited the town in 1810, he restored the building to the Catholics. Van Camp also visited the city in December, and took up residence in the city, but his services in St. John's were generally boycotted by the believers, who stayed loyal to Rome, which did not recognize the diocese.

In 1813, the Prussians defeated the French, and the city became part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 11 December 1816 King William I issued a royal decree that the Cathedral was to be in Catholic hands indefinitely, but that the Catholics had to pay an indemnity to the Protestants. The Great Church was built as new church for the Protestants in 1819-1822.

In 1830, another fire damaged the western tower, which was repaired by 1842. In 1840 the Cathedral became the church of the Parish again. While the Catholic citizens had gained equals rights in 1795, their religious liberty did not extend to their organization. The Pope was perceived as a foreign power, and an act like appointing a bishop as an infringement on national sovereignty. The constitution of 1848 then put an end to the authority of the government to effectively block Catholics organizations. There were many projects to restore the bishoprics, and to appoint bishops. As a curiosity: 's-Hertogenbosch was seen as a candidate to become the archbishopric, because of the presence of St. John's church.

In 1853 The episcopal hierarchy was restored by Pope Pius IX, who restored the hierarchy in the Netherlands as a whole. The diocese of ’s-Hertogenbosch was made suffragan to the Archdiocese of Utrecht and the Cathedral became the episcopal seat of the Bishopric of ’s-Hertogenbosch. Ordained as the first bishop of ’s-Hertogenbosch was Msgr. Johannes Zwijsen who endeavoured to bring back the Miraculous Statue of Our Lady of ’s-Hertogenbosch. The statue was brought to Brussels during the reformation but was carried back to ’s-Hertogenbosch in a procession. On 27 December 1853 it was placed back in St. John's, and on 31 December 1853 it was placed in the Maria choir.

In 1866, the Renaissance-style marble rood-loft from 1610-1613 was removed from the cathedral because it obstructed the congregation's view of the high altar and because its style clashed with that of the Gothic church. In 1871, the rood-loft was acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from the art dealer Murray Marks who had purchased it from the cathedral authorities. It was rebuilt on the south wall of the Cast Court before being reconstructed in Gallery 50 in 1923-4. This controversial sale was the reason for the establishment of monument protection policies in the Netherlands.

The first restoration of the cathedral lasted from 1859 to 1946. A second attempt at restoration was executed from 1961 to 1985. The third and most recent restoration started in 1998 and was completed in 2010, costing more than 48 million euro. Major parts of the building are once again covered by scaffolding erected for restoration of the outer stonework, but also, ironically, to remedy mistakes made by earlier restoration attempts.

In 1985, the cathedral received the honorary title Basilica Minor from Pope John Paul II.

In 2000 St. John's Cathedral was designated as a so-called ‘Kanjermonument’ (whopper-monument, loosely translated). This label makes it easier to receive financial support from the Dutch government.

Construction of the first St. John's church is thought to have started in 1185 and to have been finished in 1340. Built in a Romanesque style, the church was ordered by Henry I, Duke of Brabant and stood on the same spot where the St. John now stands. St. John's started as a parish church and was dedicated to St. John Evangelist. In 1366, it was elevated to a collegiate church.

In about 1340, construction was initiated to reconstruct the church to accommodate the growing religious presence in the city. The new cathedral would be rebuilt entirely in a Gothic architecture style. The apse chapels and outer choir aisles were completed first, followed by the transept and choir in 1450. By 1505, the Romanesque church had largely been demolished, leaving only its tower. Construction of the cathedral finished about the year 1525.

In the sixteenth century the Reformation inspired the Catholic church to implement its own reforms. In 1559 St. John's became the cathedral of the new diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch. The parish of St. John used to contain almost the whole city. In 1569 it became smaller by splitting of new parishes centered on St. Catherine's Church, Old St. James' Church and Old St. Peter's Church.

In 1584, a fire broke out in the high, wooden, crossing tower. Soon the whole tower was set ablaze, and it collapsed upon the cathedral itself, taking with it much of the roof up to point where the organ was situated.