Boudewijn Catz

The Dutch Republic was an officially Protestant country where Catholicism was outlawed and reduced to a minority faith.

In the 1630s, a series of portraits of the Haarlem Catholic clergy was commissioned as an act of patronage towards the local artists.

The portraits were for the priests' living quarters next to the secret St. Bernardus church in de Hoek on the Bakenessergracht.

[1] On the death of Jacobus de la Torre, Vicar Apostolic of the Dutch Mission, Catz was appointed his successor on 31 May 1662.

During his time as vicar apostolic he was wholly guided by his coadjutor, Van Neercassel, who succeeded him.