Following the death of
Petrus Johannes Meindaerts,
Archbishop of Utrecht, on 31 October 1767, the Chapter of
Utrecht unanimously elected van Nieuwenhuisen as bishop elect. On 7 February 1768 he was consecrated by Bishop Johannes van Stiphout of
Haarlem and Bishop Bartholomaeus Johannes Byeveld of
Deventer. Despite van Nieuwenhuisen’s excommunication by the
Roman Catholic Church for this act, C.B. Moss says, “The new archbishop received letters of communion from [Roman Catholic] bishops in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and from a large number of [Roman Catholic] priests, who recognized fully, not only that the Church of Utrecht was orthodox in doctrine, but also that her claims to canonical jurisdiction were sound.” ==Death==