Willibrord van Os

Willibrord van Os served as the thirteenth Archbishop of Utrecht from 1814 to 1825.

In this Dutch name, the family name is Van Os, not Os.

Willibrord van Os
Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht
Church	Old Catholic Church
Archdiocese	Utrecht
In office	1814–1825
Predecessor	Johannes Jacobus van Rhijn
Successor	Johannes van Santen
Orders
Consecration	24 April 1814 by Gisbertus de Jong

Early Ministry

Before serving as Archbishop of Utrecht, van Os served as grand vicar of the Archbishop of Utrecht.

After the death of Archbishop Johannes Jacobus van Rhijn, King Louis Bonaparte forbade the Chapter of Utrecht to elect a successor. After Louis’ resignation in 1810, the kingdom was annexed to the French Empire, and his brother, Napoleon, visited Utrecht in 1811. According to C.B. Moss, van Os met Napoleon and resisted the emperor’s plan to confiscate the revenues of the Church.[1] Neale writes: “He boldly and resolutely withstood the man to whose iron will Pius VII had yielded.” [2]

Archbishop of Utrecht

Before Napoleon could bring Utrecht into submission to the Roman Catholic Church, the French were driven from the Netherlands, and the Chapter of Utrecht chose van Os as bishop-elect. He was consecrated by Bishop Gisbertus de Jong on April 24, 1814.

Death

Van Os died at Amersfoort on February 28, 1825.

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Johannes Jacobus van Rhijn 1797-1808	Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht 1814-1825	Succeeded by Johannes van Santen 1825-1858

References

1. Moss, p. 155.
2. Neale, p. 347.

Moss, C.B. (1948). The Old Catholic Movement: Its Origins and History. Berkeley, CA: The Apocryphal Press.

Neale, Rev. John Mason (1858). A History of the So-called Jansenist Church of Holland. Oxford: John Henry & James Parker. pp. 252–260. ISBN 978-1602066571.