association

Camp Hostyn Hostýn Association is a not-for-profit organization of Czech and Slovak cultural communities in the Province of Quebec.

How to participate

Camp Hostýn is open to visitors. Membership in HA is not a prerequisite for a visit.

How to contribute

Volunteers carry out all work, such as renovations and maintenance. One can help with cleaning, lawn mowing, benches, table painting, etc. Please consult our yearly schedule or contact the camp manager.
Help is wanted in the kitchen. Cooks and cook helpers are needed during organized activities and picnics.
During summer camp for children, we need counselors, cooks and cook helpers, maintenance technicians, and a camp director.
You may donate construction materials, tools, gardening supplies, kitchen appliances and equipment, sporting goods, etc. Financial donations are also accepted.

Please contact us about the cooperation, sponsorship, and donation possibilities.

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Membership

Membership in HA is open to persons of Slovak or Czech descent and their spouses but also to persons with a solid tie to the Czech or Slovak republic, for example, people with knowledge of the language, culture, history, etc. Members are required to be loyal to HA and promote the interests of HA. Members receive special offers and have priority with reservations.

Voting members

Members that significantly contribute to HA and are actively involved in supporting HA can apply for voting membership.

Mission statement

Our mission is to support the moral, intellectual and spiritual development of the Czech and Slovak people. In addition, we preserve, maintain, and improve the camp Hostyn as a meeting place and a recreational facility and organize various cultural activities. Camp Hostyn is the last remaining piece of property in the province of Quebec owned by the Czech or Slovak community.

The application can be downloaded in PDF (in Czech only).

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Velvyslanectví České republiky v Ottawě
Veľvyslanectvo Slovenskej republiky v Ottawe

Slovak and Czech organizations in Canada

Representatives in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia

We are currently searching for a travel agency to represent us in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia.

Interesing links

Czech and Slovak Mass in Montreal

Ascention Evangelical Lutheran Church, 865 Jarry St. W, Montreal, H3N 1G8 Tel: (514) 272 8570 Pastor Ristau, Predseda kongregácie: Ján Čomaj, Tel: (450) 621-4109
St. Cyril & St. Method Church, 7181 2nd Avenue, Montreal, H2A 3G8 Tel: (514) 721 1551 Správca farnosti: Rev. František Krušinský, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Elektronická verzia Bulletinu každý týždeň. Objednajte si u Rev. Františka Krušinského.
Ascention of Our Lord (E.R.) Church, 45 Legendre St. W., Montreal, H2N 1G9 Tel: (514) 389-9836
Misie Sv. Václava: Mše svatá je sloužena zhruba jednou za měsíc. A to v neděli, vždy v 11 hodin v kapli Loyola High School , 7272 Sherbrooke Street (blízko West Broadway), Montreal. Informace podá otec Lubomír Svorčík tel. 416-836-7109

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Father Janíček in 1994 Named after the Holy Hostýn pilgrimage shrine in eastern Moravia (http://www.hostyn.cz), Hostýn camp was founded in 1954 by the Czech Jesuit P. Bohuslav Janíček S.J. (1919-2002). Father Janíček's goal was to provide an affordable summer camp for the children of Czech and Slovak immigrants. For the camp's first year, Father Janíček rented a piece of land in the Laurentians' forest near St-Calixte. The 25 children that participated in the camp slept in tents for the five weeks the camp lasted. The following year, in 1955, Father Janíček bought 23 acres of the land. Then, he started to build permanent summer camp facilities with the help of volunteers such as the Štrbáňek family, Magdalena and Josef Janíkovi, Milan Bojsa, and others.

Mr. Josef Janík

That year, they built the main building with a kitchen and rooms for the cooks. Then, on May 9, 1955, the camp was put under the administration of the Czechoslovak Welfare Association, a charity organization. In 1956, the volunteers were able to complete the dining room, and in 1957, electricity was installed, a well was dough, and running water was made available in the kitchen.

For the first few years, both children and counselors slept in tents. Then, in 1959, cabins began to be built, gradually replacing tents for lodging.

The cabins each held three beds, one wooden table, an electric light, and a shelf above each bed. The cabins were built in two circles of 11 at different locations, one group for girls and the other for boys. Two additional places were added for counselors. Near each group of cabins, an activity hall was built.

Father Janíček in 1994 with one of his Slovak friends, Mrs. Štrbáňek

In the girl's part of the camp, a little church was built, consecrated to Mary Svatohostýnska. Father Janíček from the province of Saskatchewan brought the bell for the church and was consecrated on August 11, 1961, by Father Bishop J.A. Papineau from the town of Joliette. This consecration was the first annual gathering in the name of Mary Svatohostýnska, a gathering which has been held since and is known today as the annual picnic. For various reasons, the date of the gathering varies slightly every year. Nevertheless, the summer camp continued to have great success, with about 140 children attending it yearly. At first, the children were mainly from Montreal, but later, children from Cleveland, Chicago, Toledo, Toronto, London, Hamilton, Windsor, Ottawa, and even New York, Texas, and Sweden began participating. After the so-called 'velvet revolution' in 1989, the Czech Republic and Slovakia children also attended the camp. These children are now grown and have a Tribute to the Father webpage.

The camp was also visited by some important clergy people like cardinal Josef Beran and cardinal Tomáš Špidlík, which attended the 50-year celebration of the camp in 1999 (see picture).

In front of the girl’s activity building in 1999, From the left: Ivan Strážnický, Jiří Horák, Marta Strážnická, Father Janičík from Slovakia, Mrs. Štrbáňová and cardinal Špidlík In front of the girl's activity building in 1999, From the left: Ivan Strážnický, Jiří Horák, Marta Strážnická, Father Janičík from Slovakia, Mrs. Štrbáňová and cardinal Špidlík.

In 1992, Father Janíček decided to retire and donated the camp to the Loyola High School because he thought that the camp's attendance was falling too much. The Czechoslovak Welfare Association was also shut down. Unfortunately, after doing a few repairs, the new owners, a group of Montreal Jesuits, soon abandoned the camp. The camp was left unused and in a state of disrepair until the foundation of the Hostýn Association in 1997.

If anyone would like to provide additional information about the camp's history, don't hesitate to contact the webmaster at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Birth of Hostýn Association, I.N.C.

In 1992, the Hostýn Camp was donated to a group of Montreal Jesuits because of Father Janíček's retirement and a decline in the number of children participating. The traditional annual picnic continued to be held yearly on the camp's site. People noticed the camp's bad condition during those gatherings and were disappointed. Father Janíček also realized that the camp was not being cared for and began negotiating with the Jesuits to get the camp back. On December 5, 1997, the Hostýn Association was founded to support the moral, intellectual and spiritual development of the Czech and Slovak people.

The Hostýn Association took control of the Hostýn camp from the Jesuits on April 20, 1998. Volunteers worked hard in the first years to restore the abandoned buildings. The camp was used as a recreational facility for families and hosted several special events per year.

There was no plan for a children's summer camp until 2002 when the Toronto Masaryk Memorial Institute (M.M.I.) closed its summer camp and decided to work with the Hostýn Association to create a Hostýn summer camp. The M.M.I. took care of the finances and provided children and counselors. The Hostýn Association repaired the camp's facilities, built a new shower and toilet building, and took care of the cooking and camp direction. The first camp not under Father Janíček's direction was held in the summer of 2002 and had great success. In the following years, the camp was also near its total capacity (66 children at one point). In addition, a new private beach was bought for children's use in 2003 on Lake Lafond.

We hope to continue offering summer camp and community activities for many more years.

A house in the forest built by children in 2003 A hut in the forest built by children in 2003

Anyone wishing to donate for the camp's maintenance and improvement can do so on the Online payment page.

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