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Mozes en Aäronkerk

Moses and Aaron Catholic Church
Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church
Mozes en Aäronkerk, Sint-Anthoniuskerk
Mozes en Aaronkerk 1.jpg
Mozes en Aäronkerk at the Waterlooplein
Basic information
Location Amsterdam, Netherlands
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Rite Latin Rite
Municipality Amsterdam
State Noord-Holland
Province Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam
Country Netherlands
Year consecrated 1841
Ecclesiastical or organizational status parish church
Status Reconsecrated in 2014
Heritage designation Rijksmonument, 1970
Website http://www.santegidio.nl/
Architectural description
Architect(s) Tilman-François Suys
Architectural type Church
Architectural style Neoclassic, Baroque
General contractor Johannes A. van Straaten
Groundbreaking 1837 (1837)
Completed 1841 (1841)
Direction of façade southwest

Coordinates: 52°22′05″N 4°54′11″E / 52.36806°N 4.90306°E / 52.36806; 4.90306

The Moses and Aaron Church ( Dutch: Mozes en Aäronkerk ), in the Waterlooplein neighborhood of Amsterdam, is officially the Roman Catholic Church of St. Anthony of Padua ( Dutch: Sint-Anthoniuskerk ). Originally a clandestine church, it was operated by Franciscan priests at a house on Jodenbreestraat [ "Jewish Broad Street" ], where the wall tablets of Moses and Aaron hung on the wall. In 1970, the present church was designated as a Cultural Heritage Monument ( Dutch: Rijksmonument ) of the Netherlands.

In the first centuries after the Reformation, the public display of Roman Catholic services and accessories was not tolerated – officially forbidden in 1660 – in Amsterdam. So in 1641 the Franciscans went to the Joodenbuurt [ "Jewish Neighborhood" ], then at the outskirts of the east side of Amsterdam, and opened a house church, the second of its kind in the city, at a house called the "Moyses" ( Moses ), at the back of the present church. In 1682, the house was joined by the neighboring house "Aäron" ( Aaron ) with the purchase by Dr. Johannes de Vroom, a physician from Breda, as well as by the house behind it on the Houtgracht [ "Wood Canal" ]. Subsequently, also in 1682, a neighboring property owned by David Torres was bought by an intermediary. Named after the brothers from the Old Testament, the twin houses proved to be better known than their hidden church, Sint-Anthoniuskerk, which had been dedicated to the church's patron saint, St. Anthony of Padua. In 1690, Johannes de Vroom, brother of the priest, consolidated all the four properties into a single block. In the meantime, the expansion of the church had already begun, before the sale was made and before permission was obtained from the City Council. The entrance was moved from Jodenbreestraat to the Houtgracht. The church was decorated inside and outside, including a new facade, in 1759. But it remained hidden under the gables of the two houses until the early 19th Century, when the prohibitions against the Catholic Church were finally lifted. It was replaced between 1837 and 1841 by a bigger and grander building on the same site. Mozes en Aäronkerk was raised to the rank of parish under its original name, St. Anthony of Padua, in 1857, four years after the Roman Catholic hierarchy was restored to the Netherlands.


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