VOSMEER, SASBOUT

(1548–1614)

As a Roman Catholic priest during the Revolt of the Netherlands against the Catholic king Philip II of Spain, Vosmeer was directed by his superiors to rally his fellow believers. During this civil war between Calvinists and Roman Catholics (among others), the church organization of the latter col lapsed. The Low Countries were thereafter considered by Rome as a missionary region (missio hollandica), and Vosmeer was appointed apostolic vicar (rather than archbishop). When the Calvinist authorities discovered Vosmeer’s activities, he was banished in 1603. He died in Cologne.