The little church "am Berg" has a long tradition. It was named after the Capuchin Fathers, who worked here for many, many years in the spirit of their founder, St Francis of Assisi. The work of the brothers in their brown robes was deeply rooted in the people. They strengthened the faithful, shared joy and suffering and were thus mediators and heralds of a living religiosity in the spirit of the Gospel and their order's founder.
Reason enough to report here on the beneficial work of the Capuchins in Ried.

Records show that there were already Capuchin fathers in Ried during the Thirty Years' War. The foundation stone for a monastery was laid in 1644 on the so-called Ledererberg, which was then renamed Engelsberg and is now known to everyone in Ried and the surrounding area as Kapuzinerberg. As early as 1645, the first priests were able to move in and begin their work for the local population. For 140 years, they did a lot of good and earned the love and gratitude of the people of Ried, but this could not continue. In 1785, the Capuchins were sent "into retirement" for the first time by decree and the monastery was dissolved.

Even then, the people of the church did not want to be without "their" Capuchins, and they campaigned vigorously for the monastery to be restored and staffed with priests. In 1862, the time had come and three fathers and one brother moved into the monastery walls.

A great leap in time to 1986, when a new, very blessed era began on the Kapuzinerberg with a new guardian: Father Berthold Brandl took over the monastery on the Kapuzinerberg on 1 September. Under his careful leadership and with the support of his confreres, many pastoral activities were carried out, such as confession, caring for the elderly and sick, assisting at mass, leading the Third Order, organising school masses for the Franciscan Sisters HS, and much more.

The loving, open-minded and very cordial manner of the Capuchin Fathers also appealed to many young families, and on the initiative of Father Berthold and Mrs Gerda Ransmayr, special "family masses" were organised, which are still popular today.

There were many other things that happened during these years of Father Berthold's gurardianship, but one event in particular deserves special mention: during a Zäzilienjause in November 1989, Father Berthold was approached by Ernst Hartl with the idea of organising a field mass followed by a celebration in the monastery garden, which had never been open until then. After many doubts, lively discussions and much thought, the first KLOSTERFEST was held on 16 June 1990! With the help of many enthusiastic volunteers, it was a successful premiere and many more wonderful monastery festivals were to follow every year until today.

In all the years of their work, the Fathers have enjoyed deep solidarity, support and appreciation from a large group of "Capuchin friends". The pastoral work of these fathers in their brown robes is not visible from the outside, but deeply rooted in the people; they strengthened the faithful and shared joy and sorrow with all the people.

With fewer and fewer new recruits to the order, history eventually repeated itself and in autumn 2010 the priests were "retired" for a second time and the monastery closed. Only Father Berthold (pictured top far left) remained in Ried and, despite his advanced age, is still a centre of spiritual life in the community on the Kapuzinerberg.