P. Jindřich Zdík Charouz, O.Praem.
P.Gorazd Cetkovský, O.Carm.
Carmelita, joyful;
Miraculously revealed!
Ark of the covenant, gracious;
Beautifully adorned!
Temple, altar, also an image
Dedicated to Mary.
(In that elevated place.)
Thus sang an unknown composer of a pilgrim song from ancient times1 and we can only long to express our relationship to the Vydří sanctuary with the same fervor and sincerity as he did, albeit in a different form.
The most frequently used source of all information about the origin of Kostelní Vydří as a pilgrimage site is the parish chronicle2 from 1789, written by Father Jakub Moravec about eighty years after the events related to the establishment of the pilgrimage site. There are no reasons to doubt it, though from time to time it is necessary to reread the records contained within and ponder whether they have conveyed their message fully, and to add information from other documents, if they have been preserved. A new summary of available knowledge is also the goal of this article.
Approaching today's pilgrimage sanctuary from Dačice, we travel or walk practically on flat ground, whereas when coming from Telč, or possibly from the village of Kostelní Vydří, we face an ascent to a hill. Though it is not as hard a climb as that to the biblical Mount Carmel, the pilgrim on foot can certainly find it breathless. It is no wonder, then, that old records consistently refer to the pilgrimage site "on the hill." An ancient path led this way, and among the trees that covered the hilltop, there stood by the path a wooden post with an image of some saint – though so weathered that it was impossible to distinguish what or who the image represented. It must have been quite old if no one could remember who erected it in honor of which saint.
However, from about 1680, people from the surrounding area observed at night, especially on Saturdays, a glow emanating from these places. The chronicle states that people marveled at it, searched the area, and found nothing. Even Gerhard Jindřich Butz from Rolsberg, the owner of the Vydří estate, dared to investigate, but he too could not find any cause of the mysterious glow. Karel Eichler, the author of a comprehensive work on Moravian pilgrimage sites and a professor of church history at the theological school in Brno, writes that people were searching for treasures.3 This conclusion may stem from legends suggesting the presence of various light phenomena. Be that as it may, the nocturnal glow remained a mystery, and perhaps exactly because there was no natural explanation, Mr. Gerhard began to ponder a supernatural explanation. The conclusion he reached was quite logical: God wishes to be worshiped in a special way at this place...
This relates to one of the many common legendary motifs, in this case rooted in the biblical narrative about Moses and the bush that burned and was not consumed. Similarly, in nearby Slavonice, as early as the late 13th century, unusual lights pointed to consecrated hosts that had been stolen along with the ciborium from the church and thrown into the brambles. Pilgrimages in Přibyslavice near Třebíč began in 1719 when lights were observed at the Marian image on the outer wall of the church, after which the entire place came to be called Marian morning rays. The fact that we find a common legendary motif at the origin of the pilgrimage site in Kostelní Vydří does not automatically mean that it is a fairy tale or a fraud. God speaks to people continually and chooses means that a particular person in their time can understand. It is only natural that in times of vibrant faith there are more such manifestations (and they need to be verified more thoroughly) than in times of unbelief. After all, even in Holy Scripture we read mention: "in those days the word of the Lord was rare; prophetic vision was not frequent" (1 Sam 3:1).
Gerhard Jindřich Butz from Rolsberg, an imperial postmaster by inheritance from Slavonice, who received the local post for his military merits in the Turkish wars and owned the Vydří estate since 1694, did not consider himself competent to deal with these questions and sought advice and help from genuine experts. He took advantage of the presence of Mr. Jan Karel Jáchym Slavata, who was staying in nearby Telč at the time, though he had long been Brother Karel Felix of St. Teresa, having held various leading roles in the Italian branch of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites from 1674 to 1710 (and was even a General in the years 1680–1683). He concluded that the extraordinary light phenomena appearing on Saturdays, traditionally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, have Marian significance, and advised him to have a painting of Our Lady of Mount Carmel made and placed at that spot. For this painting, procured in 1709, Mr. Gerhard also ordered a small chapel to be built on the Vydří hill of stone and fired bricks, fronted with doors, where Father Karel Felix personally placed the painting and, by virtue of his office, endowed the chapel with abundant indulgences. Thus, the pilgrimage site came into being, and the nocturnal glow ceased. Something similar happened centuries ago near Tachov, where fourteen flames appearing at night on the hill prompted the building of the pilgrimage church of St. Fourteen Helpers. People not only saw the sign but also understood it correctly.
In contrast to the light phenomena, we can call the repeatedly stated claim that the aforementioned last male descendant of the Slavata family dedicated the miraculous image to the Vydří sanctuary a fairy tale. This error arose from a careless reading of the chronicle and is contradicted by the testimony of the painting itself. It is now placed in a glass frame on the main altar, surrounded by metallic rays of the halo that obscure part of its surface from our sight, and in both lower corners of the painting are depicted the coats of arms of the donors, namely Gerhard Jindřich Butz from Rolsberg and his wife Marie Helena Hillebrand from Reinegg. The painting, dated in digits in both upper corners to the year 1709, is undoubtedly their gift and was created at their commission.
However, other questions arise: what is the origin of the Marian image? And how much time elapsed between the wise advice provided and the blessing of the chapel? Both were to be personally performed by a nearly seventy-year-old monk, bound by his office to Rome. How long could he have stayed in Telč? Did he stop there on one of his journeys and return after a while? Building a small chapel surely does not take long, but where to quickly obtain an image? 
To further complicate matters, we can point out a subtle peculiarity: the Vydří Madonna clearly connects with the images venerated in the original branch of the Carmelite Order, whereas Slavata was a reformed Carmelite. We do not know the answers to these questions; they may be hidden in old diaries or letters that were never read again after their addressees and may not have survived. But the image warrants further contemplation.
Experts agree that the most common model for all Carmelite Madonna scapulars is a panel painting known as La Bruna, venerated since the second half of the 13th century in the Carmelite monastery in Naples. The unknown author of our painting probably never saw it, not even in pictures, the model being mediated here, yet still real.
The task of confirming or refuting the considerations about the possible immediate influence of the painting of Our Lady of Naples from the Church of St. Havel in Prague on the painting for Kostelní Vydří we leave to art history experts.
Undoubtedly, the most discernible common feature of both paintings is the floral wreath surrounding the Mother of God with Child. Originally, the wreath of flowers symbolizes virginity and, together with the crown, represents the symbol of election and exaltation; gradually, however, it becomes a constitutive element in paintings, and in the 17th century acquires another significance: in reaction to the contemporary lifestyle, it reminds of the vanity of the world; the transience of the beauty of splendid flowers becomes the counterpoint to the eternity of the divine Word. Moreover, we must not overlook the biblical inspiration from the book of Sirach, which praises the high priest Simon with the words: "he cared for his people" (50, 4) and adds that "he was like a flower of roses in the spring days, like a lily by a fountain of water" (50, 8), which we find in old Carmelite liturgical texts in slight modification as one of the responsories of the feast of the Patronage of Our Lady, celebrated on January 30.
The small chapel on Vydří soon became inadequate to the influx of pilgrims, and thus the new owner of the Vydří estate decided to expand it. Indeed, at the beginning of the 18th century, Mr. Gerhard adopted his two nephews Heřman and Matěj Jindřich from Poestu, who from then on took the name Butz from Rolsberg. Kostelní Vydří and other estates were inherited by Matěj Jindřich, and it was he who took a significant step in 1735. That year in the spring he turned to the Olomouc bishopric with a request for permission to build a new chapel. In his request, he wrote that the chapel with the painting of Our Lady of Mount Carmel had been built by his predecessor in 1694 and that it is daily visited by people from surrounding villages seeking and finding relief and response during fevers and other ailments. However, the chapel is small and cannot celebrate the Holy Mass, besides being in a state of disrepair that cannot be repaired.
Thus, Mr. Matěj Jindřich made a promise that with the consent of the consistory he would build a new chapel at this quiet place to elevate piety, in which there would also be a small altar with the painted image. A sketch of the planned building, entrusted to the Dačice builder of Italian origin Francesco Cameli, was attached. Despite the positive recommendation of Dean Martin Josef Zourka from Telč, the consistory suggested transferring the painting to the church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary in the village. However, after more requests, consent was finally granted after two years. At that time, the idea of constructing a residence for the priest at the chapel also emerged – not only for the purpose of spiritual service but also for the greater security of the solitary place.4
The completed work was solemnly blessed on Friday of the octave of Easter, April 11, 1738, by the builder's son Jan Matěj Butz from Rolsberg, the pastor and dean of Jeletava, and canon of Olomouc. The first Holy Mass in the new chapel was celebrated that very day5 by his other son Josef Ignác, who had been ordained a priest in Olomouc less than a month earlier. Thus we interpret, contrary to other sources, that here Josef Ignác then libavit primam hostiam6 – that is, offered the first sacrifice, because according to customary practices, the entry about the primacy would read "primitiae suae celebravit." Since that time, services have been held in the chapel, as evidenced by the tombstone of Martin Cvrček located in the church, who died in 1778 after forty-one years of faithful service as a sacristan in this place.
In Kostelní Vydří, there had not been an independent spiritual administration since the 16th century; priests from Dačice or Telč managed the village. Given the constantly increasing number of pilgrims, this became untenable, and thus, between 1746–1752, the aforementioned Josef Ignác Butz, then already a canon of Brno and Olomouc, built an extensive residence south of the chapel. It is often said that it was to be a Carmelite monastery. Considering the aforementioned testimonies from 1735, it seems that this notion will have to be relegated to the realm of legends. The monastic building would have looked different; here it was a residence for the priest, who was to serve in the pilgrimage site and take care of the spiritual welfare of the village's permanent residents.7 The first to serve in this capacity in 1753 was Matěj Filkuka, initially as an expositor, from 1754 as the pastor of the restored parish. Two years later, a wooden nave was added to the chapel, turning the previous chapel into the presbytery of the church. In 1762, a stone sacristy with an oratory on the first floor was added to the presbytery. In 1769, an arcaded walkway was built on the western side for the "comfort of the confessors" of the pilgrims, marking the beginning of planned ambits. On July 11, 1772, the main altar was consecrated by the Olomouc bishop Jan Václav Xaver, Count of Freienfels.
The disruptions caused by Josephinism concerning the "surplus churches and chapels" spared the pilgrimage church because it was then declared a parish, and instead, the existing parish church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary in the village was closed. At that time, the wooden nave of the pilgrimage church was replaced with a new stone one, and a "wall on the southern side" was built (most likely the enclosing wall towards Dačice), as well as "lower" stairs and a gate on the eastern side. The expenses were covered not only by the sanctuary's ownership but also by contributions from Canon Jan Matěj and other benefactors. Thus, the entire complex acquired an external appearance that it has essentially retained to this day. Jan Matěj Butz from Rolsberg bequeathed his quite rich library to Kostelní Vydří, and when he died on September 22, 1803, at the age of 92 in Olomouc as the provost of the metropolitan chapter there, he was transported to Vydří and buried here before the southern entrance to the pilgrimage church. Love is inventive: according to the then-valid state laws, he could not be buried inside the church, so he chose the place for his grave and stipulated in his will that he be buried outside the church, but at the nearest spot to the main altar with his beloved Mother of God with Child in her arms.
