The last Habsburg Emperor has been declared blessed. According to the Catholic News Agency,
VATICAN CITY, Vatican, December 22 2003 (CNA) – Last Saturday, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, President of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, announced in the presence of Pope John Paul, the decrees recognizing the miracles of four future saints and seven blessed, among them the “martyr of life,” Gianna Bereta Molla, and Austrian Emperor Charles I, after whom Pope John Paul was christened “Karol” (Charles.)
The last Emperor was described as follows:
– Venerable Servant of God Carl of Austria, Austrian, emperor and king (1887-1922). Charles Hapsburg, ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was proclaimed Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary in 1916. Five years earlier he married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma with whom he had eight children. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire fell on Nov. 11, 1918, Charles abdicated. He left Austria in March, 1919, and spent his exile on the Portuguese island of Madeira, where he died in 1922 at age 34.
According to the BBC:
Charles I sat on the throne of the now defunct empire between 1916 and 1918.
The Austrian press has also questioned the miracle he allegedly worked to merit beatification.
According to the Vatican, he cured a Brazilian nun of varicose veins.
Hallelujah!
The Vatican’s description of the recognition of Karl’s blessedness is interesting (apologies for the German):
6. Die entscheidende Aufgabe des Christen besteht darin, in allem Gottes Willen zu suchen, zu erkennen und danach zu handeln. Dieser tÃ?Â??Ã?Â?Ã?¤glichen Herausforderung stellte sich der Staatsmann und Christ Karl aus dem Hause Ã?Â??’sterreich. Er war ein Freund des Friedens. In seinen Augen war der Krieg “etwas Entsetzliches”. Mitten in den Stürmen des Ersten Weltkriegs an die Regierung gelangt, versuchte er die Friedensinitiative meines VorgÃ?Â??Ã?Â?Ã?¤ngers Benedikt XV. aufzugreifen.
Von Anfang an verstand Kaiser Karl sein Herrscheramt als heiligen Dienst an seinen V��?���¶lkern. Sein ernstes Bestreben war es, der Berufung des Christen zur Heiligkeit auch in seinem politischen Handeln zu folgen. Dabei war ihm der Gedanke der sozialen Liebe wichtig. Sei er uns allen ein Vorbild, besonders denen, die heute in Europa politische Verantwortung tragen!
(But why no mention of the Austrian School of Economics? There must be much hand-wringing in Auburn, Alabama, “the new Vienna.”)
Hey, that’s out of line.
Perhaps Bruce could explain why. Given the somewhat puzzling adoration of the Habsburg monarchy in some quarters and the even more puzzling claims made on its behalf, it hardly seems “out of line.” That’s especially true since the same person who posted that comment also posted a half dozen personally abusive, homophobic, bigoted, and otherwise strange comments elsewhere on my site. (I removed them when I saw that they were all from the same person under different names and none actually had anything to say other than “Palmer is jealous and wants to be Emperor of Dupont Circle” [a neighborhood in Washington that traditionally had a substantial homosexual population] and the like.)