Large number of Dutch churches to close in near future

Over the past few decades, many churches in the Netherlands were closed, due to the declining number of attendees, the high costs of maintenance, and the lack of priests. Still, this is just the tip of the iceberg. In an interview with a local newspaper last year, Dutch Cardinal Wim Eijk predicted that in the Archdiocese of Utrecht, 285 churches needed to be closed, which would mean that in the year 2030 only 15 churches would still be open in the archdiocese.