Dutch Catholics are protesting plans to close Utrecht’s historic St Catherine’s Cathedral, which is to be put up for sale by the archdiocese, citing spiralling costs and falling attendance.

“Closing this cathedral will remove Catholicism’s visibility in the inner city and prevent any community growth in future – Catholic Utrecht isn’t ready to be confined to a museum,” noted a petition against the move. “Fine new things can still be achieved here, since we still have plenty to offer: celebrations, courses, faith meetings and processions, as well as a cathedral choir and pastoral work. Let us build further from this.” The petition was circulated after a parish council announcement that the mostly Sixteenth Century gothic St Catherine’s Cathedral, whose main altar houses relics of the Dutch patron, St Willibrord (658739), could no longer be maintained. It said local Catholics still saw “growth, vitality and a future” in the cathedral, and criticised Church leaders for “focusing on contraction and a lack of perspective.”