Prayer of the Premonstratensian Community
The Church has entrusted us Premonstratensians with the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours – the official prayer through which the Church prays for the whole world, also known as the breviary. As a community, we therefore gather several times a day in the church for this prayer. The main parts of the prayer are conducted in Latin. Vespers are usually sung in chant, while the psalms and readings are in Czech. We would be glad if you join us in prayer because it holds true what Jesus says in the Gospel of St. Matthew: if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. Since the pandemic, we have been broadcasting vespers on Feast Days and Sundays on YouTube .
Join us in spirit:
- 6:30 Prayer with reading, Morning Praise (in Latin, can be attended in church)
- 7:15 Holy Mass
- 8:30 Mid-morning Prayer
- 12:00 Midday Prayer
- 17:00 Vespers (on Sunday at 19:30), broadcast on YouTube on Feast Days and Sundays
- 18:00 Holy Mass
- 21:30 Night Prayer
Church Music and Choir
The regenschori and organist of the Strahov Basilica is Mr. Vladimír Roubal. He was born on July 1, 1965, in Pilsen. He studied organ at the Conservatory in Pilsen with Prof. Jitka Chaloupková and in Prague with Prof. Jan Hora, and improvisation with Prof. Jaroslav Vodrážka. From 1980-1985, he served as the organist of St. Bartholomew's Cathedral in Pilsen, and from 1985-1990 as the organist and choirmaster of St. Margaret's Basilica at the Benedictine Archabbey in Prague-Břevnov. Since 1990, he has been the director of church music at the Royal Canonry of Premonstratensians in Prague at Strahov. Here he founded the church choir Collegium Strahoviense. He excels in improvisation and is the recipient of two first prizes in improvisation competitions (1982, 1988). He has performed in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France, Poland, Romania, Moldova, the USA, and Japan. He has recorded a number of CDs, composed music for several films, and collaborates with Czech Radio and radio in other countries - Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan - in recording historical organs. In 2007, he played at the Strahov Basilica for the First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Laura Bush, during the official visit of the President of the United States to Prague. Contact details for Mr. Vladimír Roubal can be found in the Contacts section, under the Parish category.
The church choir, operating at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at Strahov, is named Collegium Strahoviense. It was established on July 1, 1990, simultaneously with the appointment of its artistic director, Vladimír Roubal, as the director of the choir of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at the Royal Canonry of Premonstratensians at Strahov. The choir was founded to provide musical accompaniment during ceremonial worship services and beyond. Some members came to Strahov from Academiachor, and the body was supplemented by local parishioners. The Strahov church choir continued the activities of the previous body, Wowes Collegium, with artistic director Marek Fraňek.
