When visiting the Franciscan monastery of Mount La Verna in the autumn of 1993, Pope John Paul II urged the Franciscan brothers to build a monastery near the Hill of Crosses and they responded to the Pope’s call. And so Franciscan friars from the province of Tuscany started the construction of the building that stands 300 meters away from the Hill of Crosses. It was solemnly consecrated on July 8, 2000. In their prayers, the Franciscan friars often ask for God’s grace and renewal in the light of the Gospel.