During the time of communist oppression, the identity of Karmel P. Metoděj Minařík was pronounced. He compiled his memories into the following article to give others a glimpse into the "living" history of Vydří.
It is said that the Virgin Mary knows how to choose her chosen places. During the last war, there was an article in the newspapers about which city in Czechoslovakia is statistically the healthiest. Dačice was mentioned there. Then the church and the monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on the hill above Dačice would be the healthiest place in our country. However, she cares more about inner health and beauty. In this respect, this place bears her seal. It is lovely, peaceful, leading to prayer and spiritual life.
It began with the fact that a picture of her hung on a tree in the forest on a hill. In 1709, a chapel was built at that place, consecrated by the general superior of the Carmelite order, Karl Felix Slavata, who placed the current miraculous image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel inside it. In 1754, a wooden nave was added to the chapel, and in 1789, the church was built in its current form. A monastery was built for the Carmelites between 1746 and 1752.
However, due to various obstacles, the Carmelites only arrived here on July 1, 1908, from Austria. The first among them was P. Telesfor Hardt. He came from Aachen, was previously a missionary in Canada, and had an extraordinary talent for languages (for example, he later preached at my first Mass in my hometown, and no one realized that he was not a native Czech). He was zealous; immediately he had the church painted, arranged for new benches, and renovated the entire church so that on July 16, 1909, the famous pilgrimage could take place to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the first chapel. Besides him, priests P. Josef, native brothers P. Bazil and P. Angelus, P. Hubert, and the paralyzed P. Elizeus, P. Marian, and a Czech, P. Albert Veleba, served here and in nearby Cizkrajov. The lay brothers were named Spiridion, Antonín, Gabriel, Šimon, Jáchym, Richard, and the well-known Bohumír Čekal from Studená among the older pilgrims. The pilgrimages occurred from June to mid-October, with two to four processions arriving every Sunday, both Czech and German. The main pilgrimage always took place on the Sunday after July 16.
P. Telesfor, the prior and pastor, also sent several students to the Jesuit gymnasium in Linz so that they could later serve as religious priests. The first among them was Antonín Valena (later prior and pastor P. Dr. Prokop Valena), followed by Rudolf Dohnal, who soon died, then two more brothers Valena, Josef (who also died soon) and Ludvík, František Běhan, and Leopold Karásek (later P. Melichar Karásek).
After World War I, sharp nationalistic struggles ensued, and in 1920, the Austrian priests had to return to Austria, while the Czech brothers were not accepted back, so they reluctantly returned home. Only the Czech priest P. Albert Veleba remained in the monastery. The Austrians went to Vienna, where P. Telesfor became the prior and pastor and built a large church and monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
During that time, Prokop Valena was studying in Rome, obtaining a doctorate in philosophy and theology, and on June 28, 1925, he was ordained a priest. He served for some time in Poland, and after P. Veleba's departure, he arrived as prior and pastor in Vydří on June 1, 1931.
He was joined by other priests of the order. Albert Kafka came from Volfířov. He was sent to study in Rome, but as a late vocation, he studied quickly, contracted tuberculosis, was ordained early, and was sent home in the hope of recovering there. He died and is buried in the forest cemetery opposite the church.
From Telč came Václav Havlík, who studied in Poland and was transferred to Vienna because in the 10th district of Vienna, where the Carmelite monastery is, there are many Czechs. He ended up in the Mauthausen concentration camp and, after his release, left the order.
The third was I, Metoděj František Minařík. From my hometown of Slavičín, I first arrived in Kostelní Vydří on October 17, 1933. I did my novitiate in Straubing and studied for the priesthood in Bamberg. After my ordination on June 6, 1938, I completed my fifth year and then returned to Kostelní Vydří as a chaplain on September 1, 1939.
In 1934, Melichar Leopold Karásek joined me in Straubing and then in Bamberg. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1939, but since young priests in Germany were drafted into the military during the war, he could only return to Vydří in 1947. On March 15, 1939, we both learned in Bamberg about the occupation of our homeland.
1939–1950
From 1939, there were two priests in Kostelní Vydří, P. Prokop Valena and me. Right at the beginning, when the Brno bishopric called for those who knew German and would be willing to work as priests among Czechs deployed in Germany, we offered that one of us could go there, but our offer was not taken up. Thus, we remained by Our Lady of Vydří and under her special protection. We followed the war events, sometimes recklessly, as we had a large map pinned on the door throughout the war, and we noted the advances of the armies on it.
We helped wherever needed. In Dačice, we replaced the chaplain and catechist who had gone abroad, taught religion in Řečice and Horní Myslová. We conducted several retreats and popular missions, e.g., in Poštorná, the birthplace of P. Pavel Klimovič, the later administrator in Vydří. We had short exercises for children coming from school or for girls from courses with the Borromean sisters in Moravské Budějovice. We also had spiritual exercises with the Carmelites in Prague. We maintained contact with them even when they were in Broumov and Jiřetín. We friendly interacted with the Franciscans in Dačice and the Premonstratensians in Nová Říše. P. Prior was their confessor. Often engaged couples from various, even distant places came to us who wanted to be married at Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
The most lively life among us occurred during the summer holidays. In the accommodations near the church, there were camps of high school girls (the boys would not be satisfied with such modest conditions) organized by Dominicans and some professors. Students and youth came for discussions and played volleyball. They were interested in Carmel, even though in the end, they did not become Carmelites.
Every summer, children and older ones from Ostrava also came to us to recover in the healthy air from the contaminated environment of Ostrava. (This was organized by a priest and catechist from my hometown, P. Malovaný, who prepared me for my exams in Latin for the gymnasium entrance). Citizens from the parish took them into their homes, and they integrated completely with them as one family.
There was a good relationship between the parish and the school because the teaching family Novák was entirely believers. The first pilgrimage took place in the lower church, known as the "lower" on the Visitation of the Virgin Mary on July 2. On the Thursday following July 16, the "town" pilgrimage for pilgrims from Dačice, Telč, and Nová Říše occurred until it was no longer possible. The main pilgrimage was still on the Sunday after the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Slowly, the end of World War II was approaching. During the retreat of the German army, several German officers briefly stopped by us at the parish. They were various. One of them, a good-natured Austrian, told us that he had a clear conscience, that he had not killed a single person when he had to shoot, and when he shot, he shot into the air. He surely spoke the truth. He mainly warned us about one fanatical evangelical pastor, who personally shot several of his soldiers when they tried to flee.
On May 6, 1945, on Sunday and mainly on the night of May 7, the German army was fleeing back to avoid falling into the hands of the Russians. If they could not escape, they hid in the woods, and in the following days, they withdrew to Austria. Our men kept watch day and night. When they were short-staffed, they gave me a rifle so that I could at least guard during the day. Only one citizen was shot one night, a young man named Koukal.
On Monday morning, and throughout the day, everyone, including us, welcomed the first Russian soldiers in Dačice. Our Lady protected us. After some time, a Russian meteorological station was established at our church, with one officer and several soldiers and female soldiers. Nothing was lost from us; they behaved decently. The officer lived at the parish. When he did not go to the dance party on Sunday, P. Prior asked him why not. He gave a beautiful answer: "When saying goodbye to my wife, we promised that we would not go to any entertainment until we meet again after the war. I have kept my promise so far. I don’t want to break it in the end."
In those days in May, there was a thanksgiving pilgrimage at Montserrat near Cizkrajov. During the sermon, I encouraged people to gladly go there on pilgrimage, so they would not be less pious than the Germans, who used to pilgrimage there eagerly. Just a few days later, some gentlemen from Jihlava came to us and interrogated me about what I had preached. This was perhaps one of the first interrogations by the STB and my first encounter with them.
Lipolec was in the occupied territory at the time of the Protectorate. The Austrian bishop transferred the head of diocesan charity there to protect him from impending imprisonment. It was P. Müller, a good man, completely neutral in nationality. At the end of the war, he had to have both of his legs amputated in Dačice. We managed to get him to Austria, and I administered the Lipolec parish until a new administrator was appointed there. I also experienced the expulsion of the Germans.
Besides that, we were entrusted with the parish of Volfířov. When I took over the parish from Father Pařil and we said goodbye, neither he nor I knew what awaited him in Babice (or near Babice?), where he was transferred. The infamous staged Babice trial, during which several citizens and priests were shot, among them him.
In those years, P. Prior and I alternated every two months as spiritual leaders at the sisters’ convent of the Blessed Virgin Mary (commonly called English Pannas) in Štěkni. P. Prior got to know them when he served as a spiritual leader at a camp for students during one summer, exceptionally not in Vydří, but in their castle in Štěkni near Strakonice.
In 1947, P. Melichar returned to Vydří, as we have already said, so we were three. We experienced one extraordinary, miraculous protection of the Virgin Mary. The STB wanted to draw us into a trap and play a similar game with us as in Babice. Several people in Vydří and in Dačice were drawn into it, imprisoned, but then released; the main aim was to get the priests. The evening when this happened, only P. Prokop and P. Melichar were home, while I was in Štěkni.
1950
From March 31 to April 5, 1950, a monstrous trial was held for ten representatives of the orders. During the night from April 13 to April 14, the male monasteries were raided, and the monks were taken to internment camps. Only a few small monasteries remained, especially where they had spiritual administration.
On Wednesday, May 3, then the feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, I was returning in the afternoon from teaching religion in Velký Pěčín. Several State Security men were sitting on the lawn in front of the entrance. They surrounded me, and a dialogue like this ensued.
“We need to speak with the superior.”
“He is not at home.”
“Where is he?”
“In Štěkni.” (I knew they were aware of this.)
“Who is representing him?”
“I am.”
“You must go to Prague; a meeting about pilgrimage sites will be held there tomorrow, and no one will be there from there; all pilgrimages will be banned.”
“I will call the superior; let him decide.”
“Why would you call? We are going there; we will take you with us.”
When they could not persuade me, they left without me. I managed to reach P. Prior. He simply said, “Well, fine.” But he did not go anywhere; he saw that everything was a lie.
Late in the evening, after the May devotion, I was praying at home. Suddenly, I heard several cars arriving. A complete inner calm flooded over me: In the name of the Lord! When they rushed inside, they asked for P. Melichar. He was rehearsing a children's play in the castle with the children. They sent for him.
The meeting was brief. It was basically something like this:
“The trial of the monks showed that the orders are against the regime. Therefore, the government feels the need to concentrate all the monks and review them. Those who go with her will return to their monasteries; those who are against her will remain shut away, so they cannot spoil the people.”
“What do you say to that?”
“I will be taken.”
“Pack your essentials. Where we take you, you will have everything you need. Mr. Karásek will stay here to take care of the parish.”
On the way, we stopped at the STB in Jihlava and took me further to the internment monastery for superiors in Želiv. That same night, P. Prior Prokop Valena was ambushed in Štěkni and brought to Želiv as well, placed in the same cell as I was. It was around midnight. There we met.
In the Želiv monastery, there were interned monks from more than twenty orders. We remained there until 1955. After our release, we could no longer return to Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Kostelní Vydří.
P. Prior gradually became the administrator of several parishes and died in the hospital in Brno on April 6, 1971, and is buried in the parish cemetery in Vydří.
I mostly stayed in retirement homes run by the order's sisters. I visited Our Lady of Mount Carmel for visits and for the main pilgrimage. I received a 'state approval' for the Holy Mass and for confessions during the pilgrimage. Once, however, I preached about faith and quoted Scripture: “The foolish says in his heart: There is no God” (Psalm 13:1). After the Holy Mass, the church secretary told the P. Dean: “It sounds like all of us atheists were fools.” And since then, he and others after him allowed me only to hear confessions.
P. Melichar was the administrator until 1983. He always welcomed us brotherly, even with great risk, when we had various meetings in the monastery and in the church with those who were not to be known and who later turned out to be Carmelites. P. Melichar continued to reside in the monastery until his death on Pentecost, May 26, 1985.
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Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Kostelní Vydří has such a lovely place that once in the legend of holiness, the deceased general assistant P. Jan Brenninger wrote: “Kostelní Vydří must never be abandoned.” May Our Lady of Mount Carmel never abandon them, either. One of the church's patrons, from the Rolsberg family, stamped a book in his library with the inscription: “Marian Vydří.”
P. Metoděj Minařík
May 12, 1992
