Next Saturday’s consecration of Msgr. Jan Hendriks as auxiliary bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam will be one of the two final achievements of our current nuncio. Having reached the age of 75 in September, Archbishop François Bacqué will soon have his resignation accepted, and the Dutch Church and state may get ready for a new official papal representative. The only other appointment prepared under his guidance is that of Breda’s Bishop Liesen, whose installation will take place on 28 January.
The general impression of Saturday’s ceremony, then, is that of a farewell to the nuncio, an impression further strengthened by his reception by the bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam a week ago. There, Bishop Punt made a point of expressing his appreciation for Archbishop Bacqué’s work for the Dutch Church.
And that is quite a body of work. Perhaps the most visible job of a papal nuncio is preparing the appointment of new bishops. The nuncio not only announces new appointments, but also works with diocesan clergy, the bishops’ conference, the Congregation for Bishops in Rome and ultimately the pope in making the right choice. The nuncio has a key role in investigating the priests nominated as possible new bishops and forwards his conclusions to Rome, where the Holy Father ultimately makes the decision.
Archbishop Bacqué was appointed as Papal Nuncio to the Netherlands on 27 February 2001, the 11th papal representative in an unbroken line since the future Cardinal Tacci Porcelli arrived on these shores in 1911. Only one of the nine men between these two had a longer time here: the wartime nuncio Paolo Giobbe (1935-1959). In the 11 years that Archbishop Bacqué represented the Holy See and Father here, he has been responsible for no less than twelve appointments, listed below:
- 11 April 2001: Gerard de Korte as Auxiliary Bishop of Utrecht and Titular Bishop of Caesarea in Mauretania
- 21 July 2001: Jos Punt as Bishop of Haarlem
- 9 September 2006: Hans van den Hende as Coadjutor Bishop of Breda
- 11 December 2007: Wim Eijk as Archbishop of Utrecht
- 18 June 2008: Gerard de Korte as Bishop of Groningen-Leeuwarden
- 7 December 2009: Theodorus Hoogenboom as Auxiliary Bishop of Utrecht and Titular Bishop of Bistue
- 7 December 2009: Herman Woorts as Auxiliary Bishop of Utrecht and Titular Bishop of Giufi Salaria
- 15 July 2010: Jan Liesen as Auxiliary Bishop of ‘s Hertogenbosch and Titular Bishop of Tunnuna
- 15 July 2010: Rob Mutsaerts as Auxiliary Bishop of ‘s Hertogenbosch and Titular Bishop of Uccula
- 10 May 2011: Hans van den Hende as Bishop of Rotterdam
- 25 October 2011: Jan Hendriks as Auxiliary Bishop of Haarlem-Amsterdam and Titular Bishop of Arsacal
- 26 November 2011: Jan Liesen as Bishop of Breda
Saturday’s consecration will certainly be the last one resulting from Archbishop Bacqué’s work, and that body of work will leave a lasting impression on the Dutch Church. The current episcopate in the Netherlands is young and has been almost completely overhauled in the past decade. We may yet be surprised by future developments, but the time of new appointments will be over for the foreseeable future. For now, most dioceses are led by bishops appointed following Archbishop Bacqué’s advice. The only exceptions are the ordinaries of ‘s Hertogenbosch and Roermond, Bishops Antoon Hurkmans and Frans Wiertz, and the latter diocese’s auxiliary, Bishop Everard de Jong.
Archbishop Bacqué’s work here will finally be recognised in part by the presence of all Dutch bishops (barring one or two emeriti), the rectors of several seminaries, the abbot of St. Adalbert Abbey, Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Polycarp, representatives of the Order of Malta and the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, and, on behalf of the government, defence secretary Hans Hillen, at the coming consecration of Msgr. Hendriks.
Photo credits:
[1] Bisdom Haarlem-Amsterdam
[2] Bisdom Rotterdam
In Caelo et in Terra 
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