Blessed Karl of Austria died in exile aged 34 in the arms of his wife, Servant of God Empress Zita, April 1, 1922. More than a century later, his descendants continue to spread the story of his short but fruitful life, with prayerful hope that he will one day be canonized a saint.
Father Christopher J. Pollard, pastor of St. John the Beloved Church in McLean, celebrated a special Mass Oct. 20, in honor of Blessed Karl’s feast day the following day. In attendance were descendants of the saint-to-be: Blessed Karl’s granddaughter Princess Maria-Anna Galitzine and great grandson Archduke Imre von Habsburg with his wife, Archduchess Kathleen. As members of the royal Habsburg family, the family members continue to observe their royal titles.
Blessed Karl’s feast day is unique from other saints’, Father Pollard said in his homily. Unlike other feast days that occur on a saint’s date of death or baptismal day, Blessed Karl’s feast day is the date of his marriage to Empress Zita, Oct. 21.
“His personal prayer life, his ordered life of service to God, became consecrated and configured to Christ on the cross through the sacrament of holy matrimony,” Father Pollard said. “So, it’s a great day to celebrate his feast day — not the last day that he suffered, not the definitive day of his baptism, but a day when, by use of his volition and by surrender to God’s will, he knew that everything after this would be lifted up to the cross.”
Pope John Paul II beatified Blessed Karl Oct. 3, 2004. Servant of God Empress Zita’s cause for canonization was opened five years later, Dec. 9, 2009, in the Diocese of Le Mans in France.
“She should be ‘Blessed’ Zita. She’s not, yet,” Father Pollard said. “So, that’s in my heart tonight as well, because this Mass is being offered for the intentions of Blessed Karl.”
Blessed Karl — also known as Charles I of Austria and Charles IV of Hungary — was born August 17, 1887, to Archduke Otto of Austria and Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma Oct. 21, 1911. The couple was deeply devoted to each other and would go on to have eight children.
June 28, 1914, his life would change forever. His uncle Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the archduke’s wife, Sophie, were assassinated during a visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. The assassination would kickstart World War I, and for Karl, the archduke’s presumptive heir, would ascend him to the thrones as king of Hungary and emperor of Austria, respectively, in 1916.
During World War I, Karl sought peace with other nations and ardently supported Pope Benedict XV’s seven-point peace plan. However, tensions within factions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire escalated during the final years of the war. Karl recognized Austrians’ and Hungarians’ democratic rights to determine the form their countries would take in 1918. He never abdicated his position as emperor, however, and in 1919, the Austrian parliament banned Karl and his family from ever returning to Austria. After Karl attempted to restore the throne of Hungary, Hungarian authorities arrested the royal family and exiled them to the Portuguese island of Madeira, where they lived in poverty. Just several months later, Karl died of pneumonia in the presence of his wife and the Blessed Sacrament. His last words included telling his wife, “I love you so much,” and calling upon the name of Jesus.
Following Mass, attendees gathered in the parish hall for a reception. “People have a very strong devotion to (Blessed Karl), which is great, because he represents a lot of things that we need in our modern world,” said attendee Noelle Claeys. “Blessed Karl, you think of him as the emperor. He’s so important, but he was such a humble and holy man.”
Princess Galitzine and Archduke von Habsburg both spoke about his impact upon their family.
“Emperor Karl was not only a perfect Christian, a wise statesman, a tireless peacemaker, but also an exemplary and loving husband and a wonderful father,” she said. “His marriage with Empress Zita was based on a mutual love and respect, and foremost, on the same deep belief in God.”
She added that married couples today should look to the example of Servant of God Zita and Blessed Karl, who told Zita shortly before they wed, “Now, we help each other climb the steps to heaven.”
Archduke von Habsburg said that Blessed Karl and Servant of God Zita continue to intercede for their family, with his own marriage as evidence. After years of asking for his great grandfather’s intercession to find a spouse, he met Kathleen Walker, a former parishioner of St. John the Beloved and a previous communications director of diocesan Catholic Charities, at a Mass at St. Mary, Mother of God Church in Washington. “It turned out that Kathleen — my wife, Katie — prayed a lot to Servant of God Zita, my great grandmother, to find the right husband. And we met on the 21st of October. That’s, as you know, the feast day of Blessed Karl,” he said. The couple married Sept. 8, 2012, and has five children.
“And we are blessed to have now a sixth child coming. We have four girls and one boy, and the boy is named Karl. He didn’t have a lot of choice,” the archduke said to chuckles around the room. “So, I can only bear witness to all the generous gifts and graces that the Lord gave us.”
