Basiliek van Sint Willibrordus

Roermond is a city in Limburg on the river Maas, and its Catholic heritage is closely tied to the memory of Saint Willibrord, the apostle of the Frisians. Roermond's best known churches are the Munsterkerk, the former abbey church of the thirteenth century, and the cathedral of Saint Christopher, and visitors looking for the Catholic heritage of the city will find it most clearly in those two. Willibrord is an important figure in the religious history of the Low Countries, and the Catholic tradition of the region remains strong.

Willibrord was an Anglo-Saxon monk, born in Northumbria around 658, who trained in Ireland and came to the Frisian lands as a missionary at the end of the seventh century. In 695, with the support of the Frankish ruler Pepin of Herstal, he was consecrated bishop of the Frisians by the pope, and he based himself in Utrecht, where he built a church on the site of the later cathedral. He also founded the abbey of Echternach, in what is now Luxembourg, where he died in 739 and where his tomb is still the centre of a famous procession each year. He is regarded as the apostle of the Frisians and is honoured as a patron saint in the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Churches dedicated to him can be found in several places in the Netherlands, and a number of them are large and important buildings. In Limburg, as in the rest of the south of the country, the Catholic tradition is strong, and the region is known for its churches, pilgrimages, processions and carnival. Roermond itself was the seat of a bishop from the sixteenth century, and the cathedral and the Munsterkerk are its main religious monuments. The Munsterkerk has a notable late Romanesque and early Gothic design and contains the tomb of the founders of the abbey, Count Gerard of Guelders and his wife Margaretha.

Anyone interested in the subject should check with the local tourist office in Roermond about the church in question, including its address and opening hours, since it may be open only for services. In the meantime, the centre of Roermond has plenty to see. The Markt Square and the Stadhuis, De Gracht, the Maasplassen at Park de Maas, the Stedelijk Museum and the Sint-Servatiuskerk are listed nearby, and the town is the birthplace of the architect Pierre Cuypers.

The subject suits visitors interested in religious history and in the Christianisation of the Low Countries. A visit to the Munsterkerk and the cathedral gives a sound picture of the Catholic heritage of Roermond.