Our Lady of the Enclosed Garden

The Roman Catholic hermitage of Our Lady of the Enclosed Garden is situated in the former Reformed church of Warfhuizen, a village in the province of Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands.

As is typical of Dutch hermitages, it includes a public chapel that has a distinct role in popular devotions, in this case, to the Virgin Mary.

The hermitage in Warfhuizen is a continuation of the tradition of hermits which arose in Limburg and North Brabant, following the Counter Reformation.

After a slow decline since the 1880s, the number of Roman Catholic hermits in Europe started to increase again towards the end of the 20th century, although the Netherlands initially lagged in this development.

In 2001, the empty Protestant church in the village of Warfhuizen was acquired by Catholics, and a simple dwelling was built into the bay adjacent to the tower, which has since been inhabited by a hermit named Brother Hugo.

The influence of the Limburgian tradition on the atmosphere in the hermitage remains clearly noticeable through the various additions from popular devotions, such as praying the Rosary and various litanies, which are sung out loud at various moments during the day.

The devotion to Saint Gerlach of Houthem, of whom there is a reliquary in the retable of the right side altar, has a special place in the hermitage.