The church and the cloister were founded by the Emperor Ferdinand III to support the power of the catholic church in the region. The foundation stone was laid in 1651 and the church was consecrated by the Cardinal Harrach in 1655. Construction of the cloister was terminated later, between 1665 and 1686. The church became a pilgrimage place of the whole Šumava region thanks to the allegedly miraculous painting of the Virgin Mary of the Sorrows donated to the church shortly after its completion by Jindřich Hýzrle z Chodů. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, approximately 15 to 20 regulars stayed at the cloister, the greatest pride of which was a rich library which is nowadays placed in the Sušice museum and which contains - despite of certain losses - several thousand volumes. In 1950 the regulars were expelled and the cloister building served to the army for a long period of time. The Capuchins could not return but in 1993. The sun dial on the southern side of the church (in the garden) are from 1731.