Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Amsterdam

De Papegaai is the lesser of the two parochial churches in the St Nicholas Roman Catholic parish in Amsterdam. The church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. It is nicknamed "De Papegaai" (The Parrot) because it was originally hidden in a garden behind a regular housefront that belonged to a bird-trader in the days when Catholicism could not be practised publicly. Today there is a narrow, Neo-Gothic facade flanked by statues of St Joseph and a perched parrot. The church is on the busy Kalverstraat, just south of Dam Square, and invites people in for quiet, as well as celebrating Sunday masses in Latin and with Gregorian chant.