Vatican’s no. 2 visits Amsterdam, marks 750th anniversary at newly named co-cathedral
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State and second highest-ranking official in the Catholic Church after Pope Leo XIV, visited Amsterdam Sunday to celebrate the city’s 750th anniversary and the elevation of the Basilica of Saint Nicholas to co-cathedral status. His visit included a mass in the newly designated co-cathedral basilica, where he emphasized the significance of faith and reflection in contemporary society, Het Parool reported.
In his sermon at the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, Parolin congratulated Amsterdam on its milestone and highlighted the elevation of the basilica to a co-cathedral as an occasion “to offer a special prayer of thanks to heaven.” He referred to the Miracle of Amsterdam, a eucharistic event from 1345 that greatly contributed to the city’s rise. The miracle involved a consecrated host, vomited by a dying man, which remained intact after being thrown into a fire. This event is commemorated annually with a silent procession.
Among those attending the mass were Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, Eerste Kamer chairman Jan Anthonie Bruijn, and former minister Ed Nijpels. The mayor’s presence was notable because earlier this year Amsterdam’s city government faced criticism for not sending representatives to the basilica’s elevation ceremony to co-cathedral status within the Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam.
Parolin urged people to listen more attentively to the word of God, stating, “Faith begins with listening.” He expressed concern over a “loss of the Christian perspective” in society, lamenting that as the world “matures,” it seems to move “without God and the Gospel.” Reinforcing Pope Leo XIV’s recent call to the media, Parolin appealed to end the “war of words and images,” echoing the spirit of Pope Francis’s message.
