On Monday, July 6, 2026, many friars from the Province of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the Czech Republic gathered in Prague to thank God for the 90th birthday of Friar Oldřich PRACHAŘ, OFM Conv.
The Minister Provincial of the Province of the Czech Republic, Friar Piotr PAWLIK, presided over the Mass of Thanksgiving at the Basilica of St. James the Greater in Prague. Capuchin friars from a nearby friary also took part in the celebration.
Friar Oldřich PRACHAŘ was born on July 8, 1936, in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia [now the Czech Republic]. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 23, 1963. He made his solemn profession on October 22, 1984. Throughout his priestly ministry, he served in several communities throughout the Czech regions of Silesia and Moravia. For the past thirty years, he has been ministering at the Basilica of St. James the Greater in Prague, where he has become renowned for organizing the annual International Organ Festival. A film documentary about this event was screened after the Mass.
The screening was followed by a reception attended by many guests from the various places where Friar Oldřich served.
Friar Patrik Bogdan RYGIEL
