Franciscans: Followers of Saint Francis of Assisi

Francis of Assisi (1182–1226), founder of the Franciscan Order, who advocated a life of poverty, love for others and strict asceticism, is one of the best-known and most beloved saints. He is the patron saint of Italy, ecology and even the Cub Scouts, the youngest members of the Scouting movement, and was both born and died in Assisi, Italy. Thanks to him, this town has become a well-known place of pilgrimage and a popular destination for day trips.

The town is dominated by the imposing Gothic Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, with a monastery where the saint is buried. There is also the Baroque pilgrimage basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, known as Santa Maria degli Angeli, where the Franciscan Order was founded. It contains a small chapel called the Porziuncola, which was originally a small house that Francis acquired for his community. It stood next to a small chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels and was referred to in the local dialect as porzioncula, porziuncola or portiuncula, meaning a small plot of land or territory. It represented what the Franciscans needed for their life in absolute poverty, but over time it actually became part of the church.

Porcinkule is also the feast of Our Lady of the Angels, celebrated on 2 August in Franciscan and Capuchin churches, a tradition brought to Bohemia by the Franciscans. Today it is celebrated in places where the Franciscans were present, such as Jindřichův Hradec, Zásmuky, Opočno and Hostinné. St Francis was also likely the first to create a Nativity scene for Christmas, depicting the birth of Jesus in a stable with live animals, and thus contributed to the spread of the Christmas tradition of building nativity scenes throughout the world.

Franciscans in the Czech lands

The Franciscans, together with the female Order of the Poor Clares, follow in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi. They are committed to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Members of the Order may be priests or laypeople, depending on their personal vocation and mission. They specialise primarily in preaching and missionary work and wear a dark brown habitwith a loose hood, fastened with a white cord belt tied in three knots, and usually wear leather sandals. In the Czech Republic, they operate in six monasteries.

Among the oldest of these is the Franciscan monastery in Prague’s New Town, which was founded as early as the 14th century adjacent to the Church of Our Lady of the Snows. The original Franciscan Garden, situated between Wenceslas Square and Jungmann Square, is a veritable green oasis in the heart of the capital; fruit trees, herbs and vegetables were once grown here.

Other active Franciscan monasteries are located in Liberec-Ruprechtice, Moravská Třebová, Brno and Plzeň. The Franciscan monastery with the Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in Uherské Hradiště is a significant historical monument that you can visit during the annual Slovácko Festival of Monuments and Wineor at other times. The monastery in Hájek near Červený Újezd is linked to a restored pilgrimage route featuring Baroque chapels, which leads from Prague’s Loreto; its monastery park with the Loreto is a place of unique atmosphere and is visited by both pilgrims and ordinary tourists.

The Fourteen Prague Martyrs

The monastery and Church of Our Lady of the Snows are linked to one of the most dramatic stories of the Franciscans in the Czech lands. In 1604, a group of monks from various parts of Europe arrived at the ruined monastery to revive its spiritual life. A few years later, however, their fates came to a tragic end during the invasion of Bohemia by troops from Passau. In February 1611, fear and misinformation spread throughout Prague, prompting an enraged mob to attack the monasteries. The Franciscans at Our Lady of the Snows fared the worst; on Shrove Tuesday, 15 February, hundreds of armed men surrounded both the church and the monastery. The Franciscans offered no resistance, yet fourteen of them were brutally murdered.

This tragedy shook the whole of Prague. As early as May 1611, some of the perpetrators were sentenced to death, but the main organisers of the massacre escaped. The victims were never forgotten. The memory of the monks, led by Vicar Bedřich Bachstein, was commemorated for centuries, yet the process of canonisation was never completed. It was not until 2012 that the fourteen Prague martyrs were officially beatified during a solemn Mass at St Vitus Cathedral. Today, their story is commemorated not only by history but also by a specific place: a tomb in the Church of Our Lady of the Snows, which has become a quiet place of prayer and reflection. Even in the bustling centre of Prague, you have the opportunity to slow down for a moment and immerse yourself in a story that has spanned centuries.

The Franciscan Monastery in Hejnice

One of the famous Marian pilgrimage sites is the Franciscan monastery in Hejnice, home to the Baroque Basilica of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, which is the largest religious building in the Liberec Region. The Franciscan friars were invited here by Count František Ferdinand of Gallas (1635–1697), and it was under the leadership of the Gallas family, later the Clam-Gallas family, that Hejnice became a thriving place. From the end of the 17th century, the Franciscans carefully recorded the miracles that took place here. Old historical documents about the church and monastery, written in 1732 by a former member of the Franciscan community in Hejnice, Father Edmund Oppitz, state that 180 cases of miraculous healing took place here. The Franciscans used the money received from the faithful for repairs and maintenance of the pilgrimage site.

On the night of 14 April 1950, the monastery was raided as part of Operation K, and members of the Franciscan Order were concentrated in Hejnice. The monastery only came back to life after the Velvet Revolution and the fall of the totalitarian regime in 1989. The church was repaired mainly thanks to donations from Czech Germans who were expelled and resettled from the Frýdlant region after the Second World War. Thanks to the support of the Jablotron company and a contribution from the Czech Ministry of Culture, the church’s façade and both towers were restored. In 2018, the Pilgrimage Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary was declared a national cultural monument.

In 2025, Hejnice will celebrate the 300th anniversary of the consecration of the church, which took place on 1 July 1725, on the eve of the Feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. The ceremony was attended by a procession led by the Franciscan superior, Father Nicodemus Kurtz, who consecrated the basilica. The current monastery in Hejnice serves as an educational, conference and pilgrimage centre, with both ecclesiastical and secular uses. It has become an important venue for meetings and dialogue between people, as well as a vibrant place of pilgrimage where exhibitions, concerts, lectures, pilgrimages and other events take place throughout the year.

Old Franciscan monasteries

• • There are many more Franciscan monasteries that have long since ceased to exist. Among them is, for example, the monastery complex in Český Krumlov, which has been converted into a modern cultural and educational centre open all year round, or the St Agnes Convent in Prague, also known as Na Františku, a double monastery of the Order of St Clare and the male order. It was founded by St Agnes of Bohemia, who became its abbess; today you can view part of the National Gallery’s collections there.

• • The Franciscan Order also looked after Skalka, a popular and restored Baroque pilgrimage site above Mníšek pod Brdy, until after 1989.

• • A small community of Franciscans still operates in the Franciscan monastery in Tachov, which includes the Church of St Mary Magdalene, founded in the second half of the 15th century. Within the monastery building, you can visit the Museum of the Bohemian Forest.

• • One of the most significant architectural monuments of the Middle Ages is the Franciscan monastery with the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Bechyně, whose present appearance dates mainly from the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the tour, you can admire the largest collection of barrel vaults in Bohemia.

• • The Franciscan monastery in Kadaň, which combines the monastery church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and the Fourteen Holy Helpers, also has a unique atmosphere; it houses, for example, the Town Museum. Another similar monastery with gardens in Hostinné also serves as a museum; in the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, you can view a gallery of ancient sculptures.

• • The Monastery of St Francis of Assisi in Votice features a number of exhibitions focusing on the history of the order. The Franciscan monastery in Turnov serves as a post office, and you can visit the original monastery church of St Francis of Assisi there.

• • The former Franciscan monastery, church and extensive garden in Zásmuky continue to serve spiritual life, overseen by the parish from Uhlířské Janovice. Various events are held here, such as parish camps, altar server gatherings or spiritual retreats.

• • The Franciscan Sisters in Olomouc offer accommodation in a guesthouse called Tõde, which means ‘truth’ in Estonian, whilst the Franciscan Sisters in Brno sell various monastery products and delicacies such as jams, fruit ciders, Franciscan wine, biscuits, gingerbread, pretzels and breadsticks.