Archbishopric of Utrecht

The Archbishopric of Utrecht is the Archbishopric based in the Dutch city of Utrecht. It was a Prince-Bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire from 1024 until the Protestant Reformation in the Netherlands ended the official Catholic church hierarchy by 1580. In 1528 the possessions of the archbishopric and its worldly power had been secularized by Charles V. The ecclesiastical archbishopric was reinstated in 1853 as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht by Pope Pius IX.

History

Foundation

The Diocese of Utrecht was established in 695 when Saint Willibrord was consecrated bishop of the Frisians at Rome by Pope Sergius I, and with the consent of the Frankish ruler, Pippin of Herstal, settled at the market-town of Utrecht. After Willibrord's death the diocese suffered greatly from the incursions of the Frisians, and later on of the Normans.

Prince-Bishopric

Better times appeared during the reign of the Saxon emperors, who frequently summoned the Bishops of Utrecht to attend the imperial councils and diets. In 1024 the bishops were made Princes of the Holy Roman Empire and the new Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht was formed. The secular territory over which it ruled was known as Sticht Utrecht or Het Sticht (a sticht was any piece of land governed by a bishop or abbot). This territory was divided into the Nedersticht (Lower Sticht, roughly corresponding to the present day Dutch province of Utrecht) and Oversticht (Upper Sticht, encompassing the present-day provinces of Groningen, Drenthe, and Overijssel).

In 1122, with the Concordat of Worms, the Emperor's right of investiture was annulled, and the cathedral chapter received the right to the election of the bishop. It was, however, soon obligated to share this right with the four other collegiate chapters in the city: St. Salvator, St. John's, St. Peter's and St. Mary's. The Counts of Holland and Geldern, between whose territories the lands of the Bishops of Utrecht lay, also sought to acquire influence over the filling of the episcopal see. This often led to disputes and consequently the Apostolic See frequently interfered in the election. After the middle of the 14th century the popes repeatedly appointed the bishop directly without regard to the five chapters.

In 1527, the Bishop sold his territories to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the principality became an integral part of the Habsburg dominions; the chapters voluntarily transferred their right of electing the bishop to Charles, a measure to which Pope Clement VII gave his consent, under political pressure after the Sacco di Roma.

Under the Habsburgs

In 1559, Utrecht was raised to the rank of an archdiocese and metropolitan see with six suffragan dioceses, but this new state of affairs did not last long. When the northern provinces of the Netherlands revolted, the archdiocese fell, with the overthrow of the Spanish power. According to the terms of the Union of Utrecht, the rights and privileges of the Roman Catholic religion were safeguarded, however a few years later, on June 14, 1580, the public practice of Catholicism was forbidden by the magistrates of Utrecht. On August 25, 1580, Archbishop Schenk died, and two successors appointed by Spain did not receive canonical confirmation, neither could they enter their diocese.

The See remained vacant until 1602, when the place of Archbishop was taken by the apostolic vicars of the Dutch Mission (Hollandse Zending), who, however, were not allowed in the country by the Estates-General and had to administer their charge from abroad. These vicars were consecrated as titular archbishops in order not to offend the Dutch Government. They would assume the real title of Archbishop of Utrecht when circumstances permitted.

During the last period of the apostolic vicariate, Jansenism and Gallicanism spread among the clergy and vicar Petrus Codde was suspended by the Pope, who accused him of being a Jansenist. He continued as Archbishop, remaining out of communion with the Papacy. After his death the majority of the diocesan clergy continued to claim the right to elect the bishops for themselves.

Having obtained the permission of the Dutch government, in 1723 the chapter elected a new archbishop, who was not confirmed in post, and excommunicated by Pope Benedict XIII. This was the beginning of what would become the Old Catholic Church. All the Old Catholic Archbishops from 1723 until 1858 informed the Popes of their elections. The pope however appointed Roman Apostolic Vicars to the Netherlands (to Utrecht) until 1853, when Catholic diocesan hierarchy was re-established throughout the northern Netherlands. In 1853, the Holy See was allowed to re-established its hierarchy in the Netherlands. At present, the Archbishop who heads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht has frequently been promoted to cardinal. He is the Primate of the Netherlands and the Metropolitan of a province with six suffragans throughout the Netherlands.

Bishops until Reformation