Cardinal de Jong was born on September 10, 1885 at Reeweg 34 in Nes on Ameland as Jan de Jong jr., the eldest son of Jan de Jong and Trijntje Mosterman. His father was a baker in Nes.
Jan de Jong jr. went to Culemborg, the minor seminary, in 1898. After this, he followed various studies, obtaining a doctorate in philosophy and in philosophy. After his studies, he was appointed third chaplain in a parish church in Amersfoort and later as vice-principal of the mother house and boarding school for girls at the Sisters of Our Lady in Amersfoort.
Jan de Jong then became a professor and later president of the major seminary. In 1936, he succeeded Mgr. Jansen as Archbishop of Utrecht. His connection with Ameland was expressed in the coat of arms he chose. The moon and the three bars from the Ameland coat of arms.
After the liberation in 1945 and the return of the Dutch government, Pius XII was pleased to elevate him to cardinal for his part in and his resistance against the occupiers of his fatherland and his steadfast stance as a church leader. He was also knighted with the highest distinctions, which decorations can still be admired in the cultural-historical museum Sorgdrager in Hollum. Cardinal de Jong died in Amersfoort on 8 September 1955.
At the intersection of the Kardinaal de Jongweg and the Burgemeester Waldaweg in his native village of Nes, there is a statue in memory of Johannes Cardinal de Jong. The statue was made by the Frisian artist Frans Ram. Cardinal de Jong was a modest man. The work of art shows the Cardinal as the islanders knew him: simply dressed, hat in hand, on foot across the Ameland that was so dear to him.
The statue in Nes was unveiled in 1982. The Roman Catholic Church of Ameland was packed especially for the ceremony surrounding the unveiling, and high-ranking religious and political leaders had come to Ameland.
On Tuesday, February 1, 2022, it was announced that Cardinal Jan de Jong was posthumously awarded the Yad Vashem distinction. This is an Israeli distinction for non-Jews who resisted the persecution of the Jews during World War II and took great risks in doing so. De Jong is thus one of the 'Righteous Among the Nations'.
Source: "Ameland, ander land, de complete reisgids", by J. de Kruyf and R. Tienkamp.