The Saint Anthony Cathedral in Sint Janstraat is the Episcopal Church of the Diocese of Breda. The “little white church,” as it is also called by some, is an oasis of peace and a pearl of religious heritage in the inner city of Breda. You enter the church under the classical figure of ‘De Godsdienst’.
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The Antonius Church is the first large Catholic church building erected after the period of hidden churches in the southern Netherlands. It was built in 1837 to a design by Breda architect Pieter Huijsers. The neoclassical architectural style is characteristic of many churches built in that period under the supervision of the engineers of the Ministry of Water Management. For a long time the style was not much appreciated, but in recent years it has attracted more and more attention again.
A rich and striking element in the church is the 1868 pulpit that tells the life, miracles and death of St. Anthony of Padua like a cartoon. Along the walls hangs a unique Stations of the Cross, whose stations are carved in relief. Also special is the ambo from 2005, designed by Eloi Koreman from Breda. The wood of this lectern comes from a two-thousand-year-old sessile oak, which is thus about as old as Christianity.
For more than 180 years, people have gathered in this cathedral to pray, sing and celebrate. The church is witness to everything that moves people deeply: their sorrows, sorrows and joys. Here people are buried, baptized and married. This is where priests and bishops have been ordained. If the monument could talk, you would hear the many personal stories of ordinary Breda people.
Korenroute
Also at St. Anthony’s Cathedral you will enjoy a performance from the choral route (20 min).