A Franciscan friary built in 1659 beside a Loreto chapel of the 1620s, west of Prague, and long a pilgrimage destination. It was abolished in 1950 and used until 1953 as a collection camp for clergy; when it was returned in 1991, the friars say, the whole complex was in a pitiful state. Repairs began in 1997.
What it needs
The friars say that with limited funds they do only what is essential each year. Their 2026 list of needs includes finishing sanitary facilities for pilgrims in the east wing, starting the reconstruction of the west wing for the brothers and later for sisters and pilgrims, a new boiler room, eight lunette windows in the cloister corridor and refurbished doors.
Before you act. The friary's needs list is informal, not a single campaign with one target. Some larger works are part-funded by the Czech state, the region and EU funds. Gifts go to the friary's bank account.
The monks are asking for donations to furnish the Chapel of the Holy Family in their guest house, in solid wood using traditional craft techniques, with the brothers making the main altar themselves. The plan put the oak pews in 2025 (the abbey reported the first half installed), and new solid-oak doors went in in August 2026; the 2027 stage covers side altars, painted-glass windows and remaining furnishings, with completion and blessing planned for 2028.
The municipality restores the convent wing by wing with grants; the current EU co-financed stage covers part of one facade and one hall. Two public collections are open: 'Zachraň klášterní sen', to save one of the largest ceiling frescoes in West Bohemia, and a long-running collection to replace the convent's windows.
