The article describes the town of Latyczów, and in particular the church there, both in a semi-legendary layer and in historical terms - the text describes Jan Potocki, the Bracław voivode, who is said to have been the founder of the Latyczów church and to have started its construction in the early 17th century. The history and the issue of the destruction of the church, which was built on an extramural site, is also presented, as well as the history up to the 1850s, still related to the Polish clergy. (Source: Tygodnik Illustrowany, Warsaw 1860, T:1, p. 255., after: Digital Library of the University of Łódź).

A modernised reading of the text

Latyczow Church.

On the Volka River in Podolia province lies the small town of Latyczów, formerly known as Leszczyn. From a lofty hill behind the town, one can see a lovely view of the countryside decorated with forests, jagged hills and green meadows, where the meandering Volka River joins the Bohemian River near Lychiv. Close to the town, the village of Tarlov, former seat of the ancient family of the same name, stands out among poplars and spruces, and a little further on, the magnificent Novo-Konstantinov church juts into the sky; at the bottom of the hill, the town of Latyczov, scattered in the valley, boasts a magnificent temple with a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary.

Driving down the hill to the outskirts of Latečivka, we see an Orthodox church on the outskirts, where a hut was once supposed to have stood, where Dominican friars, the so-called "fratres peregrinantes", having come from Rome with a painting of the Virgin Mary, painted on the walls of the church. The Dominicans, the so-called "fratres peregrinantes", having come from Rome with an image of the Virgin Mary, painted in the image of the miraculous image of S. Maria Majoris in Rome and given to them by the Pope, and not having been allowed by the mayor of the Calvinist denomination to enter the town, deposited the image in the hut and made it into a small chapel. One night the inhabitants of Latyczów noticed that the whole suburb was on fire, and having rushed to the rescue together with the mayor, they were amazed to see the miraculous light shining on the hut where the image of the Mother of God was kept.

The miracle made such an impression on the starosta that, renouncing his religious convictions, he led the monks with the miraculous painting to his castle in triumph and arranged a chapel for them there. The magnificent temple we still see today was supposed to have been built during the war with the Turks. A Polish Hetman, camped near the town of Latyczów, fell into a deep sleep with his army, weary from the hardships and the march. In his dream, the Virgin Mary appeared to him three times, warning him about the approaching enemy.

The awakened leader is in fact convinced of the imminent danger, but full of faith he proclaims the warning to the army of heaven, strikes boldly at the pagans and under the protection of the Virgin Mary wins the enemy. Mary wins over his enemies. This hetman was supposed to be Reverend Potocki, who, in gratitude to the Mother of God for her protection, built the church of Latyczów together with his army. From this account of the people, obscured by the shell of time, comes the truth, which it is our aim to explain. There is no doubt that the Latyczów church already existed before 1613, when Sigismund III approved the tithe from the starosty given to the Dominicans by the church's founders in a diploma issued in Warsaw.

In the starosty instrument of 1638, on 1 February, Mikolaj Potocki, confirming the tithe collected from the manor, clearly mentions that the founder of the Latycz church was his uncle Jan Potocki, Voivode of Braclaw, which Okolski also admits in his work Florida Russia, adding: licet alienus a fide Romana esse! The Bishop of Kamieniec, Hieronim Sierakowski, in the Visitation Decree of 1741, erroneously considers Mikolaj Potocki with the surname Rewera as the founder of this church around 1600. King Władysław IV, approving Mikolaj Potocki's tithe instrument in his diploma issued in Warsaw on 25 April 1637, also agrees with Jan Potocki as the founder.

This diploma in Latin, on parchment, with the seals and signature of the king and his secretary Jan Gembicki, is still kept at the Latyczów church. One paragraph from it we write out here in translation:

"We consider these republics to be happy, in which religion and divine honour flourish above all things, and piety increases with every day. And by the union of true faith the minds of men, united in virtue, are more educated, more progressive, and in all deeds and affairs used to aim unanimously at the goals of justice, religion and the public good, whereby they can more easily preserve the peaceful and happy state of the republic (when true faith and justice are in full bloom).".

It is even shown from various evidences and visits to church books that not only Jan Potocki, Braclaw voivode, uncle of Mikolaj and Stanislaw Revera, was the founder of the Latyczow church before 1613, but the greatest contribution was made by Jan Potocki. 1613, but the greatest contribution to this foundation came from his wife, Kamieniecka, who was a right-wing Catholic, and also, to a great extent, from the pious offerings collected by the Dominicans who, after arriving in Latyczów, settled near the parish church that once existed on the left bank of the Volka river, where the town of Leszczyny was located.

This is evidenced by a church boundary act from 1546, where the parson Wilczek is mentioned. As far as Stanislaw Revera is concerned, who is said to be the founder of today's church and monastery, it is easy to see that, having often fought in these parts and made numerous donations to the church, he won great sympathy among the people and has remained in their mouths and memories to this day as the founder of the Latyczów temple. The church survived until 1648, when it was destroyed during fierce fighting with the Khmelnytskyi and turned into a stable. The Dominicans took the miracle-working image to Lviv's Corpus Christi church, from where it was transported 74 years later to the village of Kopachivka, and on 1 July 1722 it was triumphantly brought to Latyczow and placed in the chapel; on the following day the miracle-working image was solemnly returned as on the day of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. On the following day, a solemn celebration of the miraculous image's return took place, as on the day of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, immortalized by annual indulgences.

In 1738, the church was consecrated by Bishop J. A. Podbielski of Kamieniec, and thanks to the efforts of Adam Krasiński, Bishop and Kaź. The painting and the Infant Jesus were crowned with golden crowns in 1778 by Stan. Rajm. Jezierski, Bishop of Bacon, crowned the image with golden crowns in 1778, which were stolen in 1824 and replaced with gilded silver crowns a year later. The church of Latych, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, was probably built from a former castle, which is evidenced by the two tower towers standing inside. The church's pyramidal facade is characterised by a beautiful Gothic style, cornice-like pilasters, turrets and a decorative painting at the top. On either side of the church are two chapels with spherical domes, illuminated by longitudinal windows, and on one side of the church is the monastery building.

The church is full of memorabilia, precious furnishings and more or less artistically executed paintings. The priests are obliged to sing a votive service for the souls of the founders every Wednesday, and a monthly readings mass is held for the eternal peace of Ladislaus IV and his wife Cecilia. In addition to the music, maintained by a bequest from the provincial Fr Wilamowski, there is a magnificent brick column on the road leading to the church, erected by this noble priest, covered with sheet metal, with a cross on top and a statue inside, depicting the Immaculate Conception of the N. Virgin Mary, to commemorate the Immaculate Conception. P. Mary, to commemorate the first coronation of the image. In front of the church, there is a large cemetery surrounded by a wall, in the middle of which stands a pillar with a wooden statue of the Lord Jesus, and to the right a chapel with a stone statue of St. John of Nepomuk. The entrance gate to the cemetery is in the shape of a chapel with a bell tower above.

When, in 1831, the monastery came under the rule of secular priests and was turned into a parish church, the New Alexandria (Puławy) location, on this side of the Vistula River, was occupied by pious and caring people for the glory of God and the holy shrine. A beautiful and extensive garden surrounds the heir's dwelling. The priests spared no effort to beautify the temple, renovate it and preserve its former memorabilia; many generations contributed to the doryth presented here. Such was Fr Brzozowski, assessor and canon of the Kamieniec chapter, who in 1844 brought in the painter Paszkowski to improve the frescoes on the walls and the vault depicting the mysteries of the Rosary and the story of the church's foundation; such is also the present priest and canon Fr Zgierski, who in 1852 set about restoring the interior of the church and covering the monastery and the octagonal tower with shingles.

Barely had he completed this work, on 2 April 1854, on Good Friday itself, a terrible fire broke out in the town, ravaged the monastery, penetrated the interior of the church and ignited the organ. By a valiant rescue, however, and by the grace of heaven, the church was saved. Undeterred by this misfortune, the venerable priest sang "Resurrexit" at midnight the next day on the still smouldering ruins, and within a year everything was resurrected: the church and monastery were covered with sheet metal, and the pious nuns of Kamianets bestowed a beautiful organ on the temple of Latychov. From then on, supported by worthy citizens and contributions from parishioners, he began to renovate the entire church.

He also enlarged the cemetery outside the town, walled it and planted trees, and in 1857 added a new chapel. He was also the first to promote the image of N. P. M. Łatychowska in Vilnius through the well-known publisher of the "Album of Vilnius". He was also the first to disseminate the image of N. P. M. Latychowska in numerous larger and smaller Parisian lithographs, with numerous decorations. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Mogilev, recognising the pastor's merits and concern for the welfare of the parish, elevated him to the rank of canon. May the example of this venerable priest find many followers, and many of our shrines, by the grace of heaven and with the support of the pious, rise more splendidly.