who wished not to be forgotten in prayers
P. Gorazd Cetkovský, O.Carm.
You may have noticed the tombstone near the presbytery of the pilgrimage church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Kostelní Vydří before. This year marks a significant anniversary. Two hundred years ago, on September 22, 1803, Jan Matěj knight Butz of Rolsberg died in Olomouc, a descendant of an important Slavonic family, a significant figure among Moravian clergy in the 18th century, and a long-time patron of the Marian pilgrimage site in Kostelní Vydří. He was buried in this grave on September 29, 1803. Who do we have the honor of discussing?
Jan Matěj Butz was born in 1712 in Slavonice: His father was the imperial postmaster there and his organizational skills extended into the public affairs of the town. His grandfather was a supporter of the Slavonice church and the religious life in Slavonice. The family owned the estate in Kostelní Vydří.
Jan Matěj Butz and his brother Josef Ignác became Catholic priests, serving in various places in Moravia and Silesia, reaching canon rank in Brno and later in Olomouc. They alternated in the administration of the significant Olomouc parish at the Church of St. Moritz. In fact, Jan Matěj Butz even stood at the head of the Olomouc diocese as chapter vicar after the death of Bishop Hamilton in 1776. He temporarily managed the spiritual administration of all of Moravia until the planned establishment of a new diocese in Brno and the appointment of the first archbishop of Olomouc. During his year in office as chapter vicar, anti-Catholic unrest erupted in Wallachia, which eventually indirectly led to the issuance of the Toleration Patent in 1781, allowing freedom of belief also to Evangelicals in the Austrian monarchy. Jan Matěj Butz managed the entire sensitive issue wisely and conciliatorily. He was also closely associated with the Olomouc chapter, of which he was a member for a full fifty years. In 1780, the chapter even elected him its provost.
Jan Matěj Butz significantly influenced the development of the pilgrimage site in Kostelní Vydří. In addition to financial contributions for the construction of buildings, his gifts included important interior components of the church: a stone altar and a tabernacle, he contributed to the acquisition of a pulpit and a baptismal font. He bequeathed his extensive library to the rectory in Vydří. He supported church music and musical education at this site. In his will, he also designated the pilgrimage area in Kostelní Vydří as his place of eternal rest. He expressed his wish that a mass be celebrated for him every week at the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Kostelní Vydří.
The life story of Jan Matěj Rolsberg and the broader historical context of the time is currently presented in detail through words and images to the pilgrims and lovers of the Vydří pilgrimage site as well as to all interested parties in an exhibition of fourteen wall panels, installed long-term in the cloister of the church. Here, history and piety, art and simple human experience and wisdom come to the fore. I believe that acquaintance with the exhibition can enrich those who come to Kostelní Vydří, including for their spiritual life.
