Nearly 120 years ago, Fr. Godrey Schilling, OFM, boldly broke ground on his vision to bring the Holy Land to America. The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land is a place of peaceful welcome and prayer where visitors are transported to another world the moment they arrive. It is a voice and beacon of hope for persecuted Christians in the Holy Land, an increasingly urgent need in a place where strife and political uncertainty put their presence at great risk. The Monastery is a place of service to our local community, and the number of needs brought to the friars grows every day.

In the past decade, the surge in global instability has intensely increased the number of displaced and endangered Christians. Simultaneously, the work of the Holy Land Friars has increased to meet the needs of our community at home. Individually, the Holy Land Friars could provide for our home community or our international brothers. However, the combination of the two has made your support an absolute necessity.

• Repair and restoration of stained glass windows.
• Renovation of the aging greenhouse, which helps us harvest 6,000 pounds of fresh produce yearly, which is donated to local food banks, convents, and others in need.
• Repair and restoration of shrines and replicas of Holy Land shrines, such as Ascension Chapel.
• Repair and maintenance of retreat hermitages in order to continue offering spiritual retreats.
• Maintenance and operation fund of the monastery, which costs over 1.5 million dollars a year to run and maintain.
• Reduce annual energy costs by one-third by installing a geothermal-based HVAC system in the main Monastery complex and St. Francis Hall.
• The planting of trees to repopulate the grounds after losing many trees in the last few years.

• Creating a Friars Fund for aging friars in order to make sure their needs are met.
• Promoting vocations to the order.
• Make it possible for friars from the Holy Land to come here to study and learn English.