Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht

The Archdiocese of Utrecht (Latin: Archidioecesis Ultraiectensis, Dutch:. Aartsbisdom Utrecht) is a Roman Catholic Archdiocese in the Netherlands. Until 1559 the diocese of Utrecht was the archbishopric of Cologne is a suffragan. The secular dominion of the bishops was the Bishopric of Utrecht.

History

As the founder of the diocese shall Willibrord, who was 695-739 first bishop. As a bishop's seat, she was of the utmost importance, the city is therefore rich in medieval churches. 799 the bishopric of Utrecht was placed under the Archbishopric of Cologne.

Heinrich of the Palatinate was the last prince-bishop. 1528 transferred this due to repeated riots and rebellions to the Emperor Charles V, Duke of Brabant and Count of Holland, the administration of his Bishopric of Utrecht. This also meant the end of the political independence of the pen Utrecht. In 1559 Utrecht was raised to an archbishopric in return for the Church and Province; Suffragan dioceses at that time were: Haarlem, 's- Hertogenbosch, Middelburg, Deventer, Leeuwarden and Groningen.

Already during the term of the first archbishop, Calvinism spread rapidly. With the uprising against the Spanish regime, the public exercise of Catholic worship was prohibited in 1573. Later, the Holy See is an Apostolic Vicars to manage the Catholic community in the United Netherlands from abroad. In 1723, the Archdiocese of Utrecht split off from the Roman Catholic Church and founded by the Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands.

Only 1853 Utrecht was once again the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop, first bishop was John Zwijsen.

St. Catherine, the 1853 re-established the Roman Catholic Archdiocese Cathedral