De Papegaai, Amsterdam

De Papegaai is a Catholic church tucked into the Kalverstraat, and its story begins as a place of concealed worship. The congregation was founded in 1672, when Catholics in Amsterdam worshipped out of public view. A church rose here in 1848 and 1849, designed by Gerrit Moele junior; it became Amsterdam’s first neo-Gothic church.

The name means “The Parrot,” although the rented house used by the early priest had a compass on its façade, referring to the owner’s surname. The building still carries the form of a basilica with three aisles and a gallery, while the plasterwork is decorative rather than structural. Look at the invitation by the entrance: “A quarter of an hour for God.” It draws shoppers inside to the city’s largest former hidden church that remains in use.