The Most Famous

RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Netherlands

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This page contains a list of the greatest Dutch Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 3,187 Religious Figures, 17 of which were born in Netherlands. This makes Netherlands the birth place of the 29th most number of Religious Figures behind Lebanon, and Czechia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Dutch Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Dutch Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Dutch Religious Figures.

Photo of Pope Adrian VI

1. Pope Adrian VI (1459 - 1523)

With an HPI of 74.20, Pope Adrian VI is the most famous Dutch Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 75 different languages on wikipedia.

Pope Adrian VI (Latin: Hadrianus VI; Italian: Adriano VI; German: Hadrian VI.; Dutch: Adrianus/Adriaan VI), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his death on 14 September 1523. The only Dutchman to become pope, he was the last non-Italian pope until the Polish John Paul II 455 years later. Born in the Episcopal principality of Utrecht of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Adrian studied at the University of Leuven in the Low Countries, where he rose to the position of professor of theology, also serving as its rector (the equivalent of president or vice-chancellor). In 1507, he became the tutor of the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who later trusted him as both his emissary and his regent. In 1516, Charles, now King of Castile and Aragon, appointed Adrian bishop of Tortosa, Spain, and soon thereafter Grand Inquisitor of the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile. Pope Leo X made him a cardinal in 1517 and after Leo's death he was elected pope in 1522 as a compromise candidate. Adrian came to the papacy in the midst of one of its greatest crises, threatened not only by Lutheranism to the north but also by the advance of the Ottoman Turks to the east. He refused to compromise with Lutheranism theologically, demanding Luther's condemnation as a heretic. However, he is noted for having attempted to reform the Catholic Church administration in response to the Protestant Reformation. Adrian's admission that the Roman Curia itself was at fault for the turmoil in the Church was read at the 1522–1523 Diet of Nuremberg. His efforts at reform proved fruitless, as they were resisted by most of his contemporaries, and he did not live long enough to see his efforts through to their conclusion. He was succeeded by the second Medici pope, Clement VII. Adrian VI and Marcellus II are the only popes of the modern era to retain their baptismal names after their election. Adrian VI is the last pope to date to take on the pontifical name "Adrian".

Photo of Menno Simons

2. Menno Simons (1496 - 1561)

With an HPI of 64.86, Menno Simons is the 2nd most famous Dutch Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Menno Simons (Dutch: [ˈmɛnoː ˈsimɔns]; West Frisian: Minne Simens [ˈmɪnə ˈsimə̃ːs]; 1496 – 31 January 1561) was a Roman Catholic priest from the Friesland region of the Low Countries who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church and became an influential Anabaptist religious leader. Simons was a contemporary of the Protestant Reformers and it is from his name that his followers became known as Mennonites.

Photo of Norbert of Xanten

3. Norbert of Xanten (1080 - 1134)

With an HPI of 64.45, Norbert of Xanten is the 3rd most famous Dutch Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Norbert of Xanten, O. Praem (c. 1075 – 6 June 1134) (Gennep-Magdeburg), also known as Norbert Gennep, was Archbishop of Magdeburg, founder of the Premonstratensian order of canons regular, and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Norbert was canonized by Pope Gregory XIII in the year 1582, and his statue appears above the Piazza colonnade of St. Peter's Square in Rome.

Photo of Lambert of Maastricht

4. Lambert of Maastricht (635 - 705)

With an HPI of 60.44, Lambert of Maastricht is the 4th most famous Dutch Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Lambert of Maastricht, commonly referred to as Saint Lambert (Latin: Lambertus; Middle Dutch: Sint-Lambrecht; Limburgish: Lambaer, Baer, Bert(us); c. 636 – c. 705), was the bishop of Maastricht-Liège (Tongeren) from about 670 until his death. Lambert denounced Pepin's liaison with his mistress or bigamous wife Alpaida, the mother of Charles Martel. The bishop was murdered during the political turmoil that developed when various families fought for influence as the Merovingian dynasty gave way to the Carolingians. He is considered a martyr for his defence of marriage. His feast day is September 17.

Photo of John of Leiden

5. John of Leiden (1509 - 1536)

With an HPI of 60.31, John of Leiden is the 5th most famous Dutch Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

John of Leiden (born Johan Beukelszoon; 2 February 1509 – 22 January 1536) was a Dutch Anabaptist leader. In 1533 he moved to Münster, capital of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, where he became an influential prophet, turned the city into a millenarian Anabaptist theocracy, and proclaimed himself King of New Jerusalem in September 1534. The insurrection was suppressed in June 1535 after Prince-Bishop Franz von Waldeck besieged the city and captured John. John was tortured to death in the city's central marketplace on 22 January 1536, along with Bernhard Knipperdolling and Bernhard Krechting.

Photo of Geert Groote

6. Geert Groote (1340 - 1384)

With an HPI of 57.51, Geert Groote is the 6th most famous Dutch Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Gerard Groote (October 1340 – 20 August 1384), otherwise Gerrit or Gerhard Groet, in Latin Gerardus Magnus, was a Dutch Catholic deacon, who was a popular preacher and the founder of the Brethren of the Common Life. He was a key figure in the Devotio Moderna movement.

Photo of Wim Hof

7. Wim Hof (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 57.20, Wim Hof is the 7th most famous Dutch Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Wim Hof (pronounced [ʋɪm ˈɦɔf]; born 20 April 1959), also known as The Iceman, is a Dutch motivational speaker and extreme athlete noted for his ability to withstand low temperatures. He previously held a Guinness World Record for swimming under ice and prolonged full-body contact with ice, and he holds a record for a barefoot half marathon on ice and snow. He attributes these feats to his Wim Hof Method (WHM), a combination of frequent cold exposure, breathing techniques and meditation. Hof's method has been the subject of several scientific studies, with mixed results. In 2024 the Dutch paper de Volkskrant published an extensive article which mentioned his domestic abuse, for which he was convicted in the Netherlands in 2012.

Photo of Lidwina

8. Lidwina (1380 - 1433)

With an HPI of 56.57, Lidwina is the 8th most famous Dutch Religious Figure.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Lidwina (Lydwine, Lydwid, Lidwid, Liduina of Schiedam) (1380–1433) was a Dutch mystic who is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church. She is the patroness saint of the town of Schiedam, of chronic pain, and of ice skating. Lidwina is also thought to be one of the first documented cases of multiple sclerosis. At the age of fifteen, she suffered a serious injury while ice skating and became progressively disabled. Hendrik Mande wrote for her consolation a pious tract in Dutch. She fasted frequently and acquired a reputation as a healer and holy woman. Upon her death in 1433, her grave became a place of pilgrimage.

Photo of Ludger

9. Ludger (742 - 809)

With an HPI of 56.39, Ludger is the 9th most famous Dutch Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Ludger (Latin: Ludgerus; also Lüdiger or Liudger) (c. 742 – 26 March 809) was a missionary among the Frisians and Saxons, founder of Werden Abbey and the first Bishop of Münster in Westphalia. He has been called the "Apostle of Saxony".

Photo of Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje

10. Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (1857 - 1936)

With an HPI of 54.92, Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje is the 10th most famous Dutch Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkrɪstijaːn ˈsnuk ɦʏrˈɣrɔɲə]; 8 February 1857 – 26 June 1936) was a Dutch scholar of Oriental cultures and languages and advisor on native affairs to the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Born in Oosterhout in 1857, he became a theology student at Leiden University in 1874. He received his doctorate at Leiden in 1880 with his dissertation 'Het Mekkaansche Feest' ("The Festivities of Mecca"). He became a professor at the Leiden School for Colonial Civil Servants in 1881. Snouck, who was fluent in Arabic, through mediation with the Ottoman governor in Jeddah, was examined by a delegation of scholars from Mecca in 1884 and, upon successfully completion of the examination, was allowed to commence a pilgrimage to the Holy Muslim city of Mecca in 1885. He was one of the first Western scholars of Oriental cultures to do so. A pioneering traveler, he was a rare Western presence in Mecca, but embraced the culture and religion of his hosts with passion in such that he successfully gave people the impression that he had converted to Islam. He admitted that he pretended to be a Muslim as he explained in a letter sent to his college friend, Carl Bezold on 18 February 1886 which is now archived in Heidelberg University Library. In 1888 he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1889 he became professor of Malay at Leiden University and official advisor to the Dutch government on colonial affairs. He wrote more than 1,400 papers on the situation in Atjeh and the position of Islam in the Dutch East Indies, as well as on the colonial civil service and nationalism. As the adviser of J. B. van Heutsz, he took an active role in the final part (1898–1905) of the Aceh War (1873–1914). He used his knowledge of Islamic culture to devise strategies which significantly helped crush the resistance of the Aceh inhabitants and impose Dutch colonial rule on them, ending a 40-year war with varying casualty estimates of between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants dead and about a million wounded. His success in the Aceh War earned him influence in shaping colonial administration policy throughout the rest of the Dutch East Indies, however deeming his advice insufficiently implemented he returned to the Netherlands in 1906. Back in the Netherlands Snouck continued a successful academic career.

People

Pantheon has 21 people classified as Dutch religious figures born between 635 and 1959. Of these 21, 3 (14.29%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Dutch religious figures include Wim Hof, Liam Adams, and Alex Anthony. The most famous deceased Dutch religious figures include Pope Adrian VI, Menno Simons, and Norbert of Xanten. As of April 2024, 3 new Dutch religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Charles of Mount Argus, Liam Adams, and Alex Anthony.

Living Dutch Religious Figures

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Deceased Dutch Religious Figures

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Newly Added Dutch Religious Figures (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 7 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.