The Martyrs of Gorcum

The Revolt (Eighty Years' War 1568-1648) was a turbulent time in the Netherlands. The Spanish king ran a veritable reign of terror and the country was torn apart by religious strife. Led by William of Orange, the Dutch regions revolted against Spanish rule, which eventually led to an independent Republic. A tragic low point in the beginning of the Revolt was the murder of 19 Catholic clergymen, who became known as the Martyrs of Gorcum. In 1572, they were rounded up by Protestant Water Beggars, taken to Den Briel (now Brielle), tortured and murdered.

The Martyrs of Gorcum were beatified in 1675, followed by canonisation by Pope Pius IX in 1867. Still every year around their dying day on 9 July, there is a national pilgrimage to Brielle. But they are also still venerated worldwide, as far away as Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala and the Philippines.

In 2022, it was 450 years since the Netherlands freed itself from Spanish rule. This year, we commemorated the'birth of the Netherlands' and the martyrs who lost their leven in the process.