Our God is a God of new beginnings. Each of us knows this from our own spiritual experience. For Carmel in our homeland, new beginnings are still characteristic.
The Carmelites first appeared among us thanks to Charles IV, who invited them to Prague in commemoration of his coronation as King of Bohemia. It was in 1347. The church and monastery were built in New Town and dedicated to Our Lady of Snow. Charles IV may have had in mind the greatest Marian basilica in Rome, of the same name, hence it was meant to surpass the other churches in Prague in size. However, only the presbytery was successfully built, which today serves as the church. It was a promising beginning. During the Hussite Wars, however, the Prague monastery was plundered (1419), the Tachov monastery was burned (1427), and during the Reformation, all Carmelite monasteries among us were dissolved (Prague in 1543).
In 1624, Carmel began again among us. The Discalced Brothers received the church of St. Mary Victorious in Malá Strana. At that time, our brothers also returned to Prague. Since the Franciscans were already at Our Lady of Snow, they received the church of St. Wenceslas. The religious life among us flourished until the arrival of Joseph II, who in 1782 abolished all monasteries that, according to Enlightenment rationalism, were not useful to the state.
More than a hundred years had to pass before the Carmelites came to Bohemia again. At the invitation of Bishop Huyn of Brno, they came on July 1, 1908, from Austria to Kostelní Vydří. In 1915, there were 13 brothers in Vydří (including 6 priests). At that time, they also managed the nearby parish of Cizkrajov with the pilgrimage church of Monserrat. In 1920, the German Carmelites had to return to Austria. Since 1950, after the internment of the religious brothers, only Father Melichar Karásek remained in Vydří as a parish priest, who passed away in 1985 and did not live to see the renewal of Carmel among us.
The last new beginning was as unassuming as a seed that sprouts in the ground. Until November 1989, there was officially only one Carmelite among us: Father Metoděj František Minařík. Above all, we owe him gratitude for ensuring that Carmel among us did not cease to exist even during the oppression of the church. God used him as a branch from which a new shoot arose. Compared to other religious families, we are just a small community. We are starting almost from scratch. From one father, however, within a few years, there are 16 brothers, which we consider a new divine beginning.
