The Religious Life of Emperor Karl: A Study of the Documents for the Beatification
Process
By Giovanna Brizi
May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD (Ps 138:4)
Among the kings who stand out – to the glory and the praise of the Lord – by virtue of
his holy life and demeanour, one certainly has to include the Servant of God, Karl of Austria.
For, aware of the divine origin of all human authority,1 he has not abused his position as
sovereign for personal gain. Rather, he always acted with justice for the benefit of his people,
for the expansion of the Kingdom of God and for the freedom of the Church, who, according
to the message of the Vatican Council II, calls upon rulers to grant her the freedom of religion
and of religious practice, the freedom to love and serve her God, and the freedom to live and
to take the message of life to the people.2
These enlightening words open the “Decree on the Virtues,” which was composed in
recognition of the heroic quality of the Servant of God Karl I of Austria’s, theological virtues,
cardinal virtues and other virtues flowing from them, by the theological consultants (on
October 29, 2002) and the cardinals and bishops (in April 2003).
If by “religiosity” we mean “religious experience on an individual level”3 it becomes
obvious that every human life, whether it leads to official canonization or not, must by virtue
of this experience alone be understood as something unique and unrepeatable. This general,
and obviously tautological, introductory remark applies all the more to the multi-faceted and
complex person whose religious profile is the subject of this study.
In addition, one must not loose sight of the “spiritual program” which never failed to
guide the decisions of this young and hapless Emperor who died, at the age of thirty-four,
poor and exiled on an island in the Atlantic. The last night of his life, April 1, 1922, he told
his wife, “I would like to tell you now in all clarity what I am all about: all my endeavours
are directed at the goal of discerning the Will of God and doing it, as nearly perfectly as
possible!”4 And this endeavour marked him his entire life.
Looking at the various periods of his life one can truly say that his relentless resolve to
know and fulfill the Will of God became his daily bread, the food he needed to always be able
to calmly accept the misfortunes, slanderous attacks and adversities that were thrown at him
during his short life.
To him all things, including joy and sorrow, were gifts of God; he often said, “We are
in the hands of Divine Providence. Whatever happens will be fine. Let us only have
confidence!”5
Ms. Maria Lackner was on Madeira on December 31, 1921. She described this final
New Year’s Eve in the Emperor’s household at a moment when the entire world seemed to be
collapsing in on the Servant of God:
“At evening time Benediction was celebrated to commemorate the year’s end in the
chapel of the house. Only the Emperor, the Empress and we [my husband and I] were
present. We also prayed the “Te Deum.” Behind us lay the year, which had been the most
1 cf. Rom 13:1
2 Decreto sulle virtù, April 2003.
3 Dizionario Zanichelli.
4 Positio super virtutibus et fama sanctitatis, Rome: 1994. Summ. Docc. T.I.S., p. 107.
5 Summ. test, p. 600, §780, Empress Zita.
difficult one in the Emperor’s life. In exile far from his homeland, in the most dire straits,
separated from his children, he did not know what the next day would hold for him. During
the “Te Deum” one after the other of us went silent as the pain robbed us of our voices. Only
the Servant of God kept going and, loudly and clearly pronouncing every word, sang the
Ambrosian chant to its end. … I looked at him with admiration: it was obvious that to him, at
that moment, there was God and God alone, and that this “Te Deum” was a very personal
dialogue between God and his faithful servant. At that time he did not know whether he
would ever see his children again, he did not know what the following day would bring – and
yet he prayed this prayer of thanksgiving with such fervor.” 6
All of this would not have amounted to very much if this daily effort to do the Will of
God had remained a quasi “detached” ideal. But we find that it had materialized in every
aspect of his life, especially in his dealings with his neighbor. From his unconditional love of
God flowed this other love, which often is so much more difficult to practice, the love of
one’s neighbor. Therefore we can say, in the words of St. James, that in his case: “faith was
active along with his works, and his faith was completed by his works.” 7
Looking at the Servant of God’s life from a religious perspective, one should free
oneself as far as possible of prejudice and preconceived ideas, and try to discern traces of
God’s activity, as well as Karl’s human character. One does not – in a detached and unreal
manner – want to present a sinless ascetic, but rather “judge the life and work of a man who in
his short existence was to hold an office which for a long time had been the highest in the
Occident, namely the Emperor’s. He stood at the helm of an empire which can rightly be
understood as the legitimate heir to the extinct power of the Holy Roman Empire.”8
The main source for the best and most reliable information on the Servant of God’s life
is, without a doubt, the “Positio super virtutibus et fama sanctitatis,” which comprises a total
of 2,700 pages and contains over 85 texts from the main interviews conducted in Vienna and
the inquiries held in Luxembourg, New York, Freeburg, Paris, Le Mans and Funchal. More
than 70 of these are eyewitness reports. The mass of documents submitted is impressive: over
1,120 pages. A separate study by Dr. Elisabeth Kovàcs on the “Agreement between the Texts
and Documents” is part of the Positio itself, along with three other detailed historical studies
composed by the members of the historical commission: “As stated above, all historical facts
in the witnesses’ testimonies agree with the findings of the inquiry…”9 There are therefore no
reasonable empirical doubts concerning the trustworthiness of the facts described in the
Positio.
“Karl first saw the light of day on August 17, 1887, in Persenbeug on the Danube. A
small, fragile child who had to be brought up with much tender loving care,”10 remembered
Margravine Crescentia Pallavicini, a lady-in-waiting to the young Maria Josefa, the Servant of
God’s mother.
His birth, which was a forceps delivery, had been extraordinarily difficult and almost
cost the mother her life.
The family environment surrounding young Karl was not the best. The parents’
marriage was by no means a happy one. His mother, Archduchess Maria Josefa, born
Princess of Saxony, was “a very devout, strict Catholic woman, but did not possess any
flexibility, always lived according to a fixed routine and was not able to show the love and
6 Summ. test. pp. 390-391, §§ 561-562, Maria Lackner.
7 cf. Jas 2:22.
8 Relatio et vota di Consultori storici, Voto 4, T.I.A., p. 22.
9 Positio, Summ. docc. II, p. 521.
10 Summ. test. p. 74, Margravine Crescenzia Pallavicini.
tenderness which she might well have felt on the inside,”11 in the words of her granddaughter,
Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte of Austria.
His father, Otto Franz Josef, Archduke of Austria, was a man of quite different
character, “a particularly charming, good-natured man; but lacking in strength of character.
His great charms, his good looks, his artistic temperament and his youthful hedonism might
have been at the root of a number of lapses in his youth.”12
Despite their differences in character, both parents strongly cared about the moral, social
and religious education of their first-born son. They protected him from possible danger –
due to his dynastic proximity to the throne – and raised him as a “son of the state.”
Like all children of his family, he was first entrusted to the care of various governesses,
and later tutors, who were charged with the child’s education – always under the mother’s
direction, who, however, never became directly involved, contenting herself with more of a
supervisory role.
Among his teachers Count Georg Wallis certainly had the most pronounced influence on
the future Emperor. He was a “practicing Catholic, very devout; and an utterly loyal servant
of his Emperor,”13who loved the child like his own son, but “submitted the young Archduke
– certainly with the best of intentions – to an iron discipline, which caused the boy, who was
sensitive of soul and body, many difficult an hour.”14 Next to laymen, priests also were
charged with the child’s education, particularly with his religious instruction; first Father
Norbert Geggerle, a Dominican, and then the suffragan bishop Gottfried Marschall, who also
administered to him the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation.
As is usual for children at that age, Karl’s days consisted of intermittent periods of play
and study. A special emphasis was placed on the study of languages. It was the rule to learn
all languages of the vast Empire. Several witnesses testify to the fact that the Servant of God
was conversant in some seven languages.
All witnesses concur in their description of Karl as a lively, intelligent, obedient, goodnatured,
generous and sensitive child of fragile health, and as fervent at church services and in
religious disciplines.
He was a “very conscientious child, never passed a church without stopping to say a
prayer in it; he was seen frequently in the house chapel; he said his daily prayers with
punctuality and conscientiousness, and strictly examined his conscience every evening.”15 He
delighted in visiting places of pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin, especially Maria Taferl, and
brought home souvenirs from them. One day a house burnt down close to Reichenau and the
child immediately emptied his piggy bank to help the family in need.16
Also in his childhood, another telling episode happened, which his wife, Empress Zita,
relates, “The Servant of God was highly devoted to the Mother of God as his Heavenly
Mother. One day as he was playing, he threw the branch of a tree up in the air and it
happened to hit a small shrine dedicated to the Virgin. Even though this had happened
entirely unintentionally, the boy immediately began to weep because he felt so sorry for
having hurt the Mother of God. All his life he showed a special devotion to shrines dedicated
to the Virgin, and he often decorated them with flowers or garlands in order to – as he told
me – show the Mother of God that he never wanted to hurt her again.”17
Karl spent his youth living with his family in Vienna’s Augarten; which was not far
from the parish church of St. Leopold where he went for prayer as often as possible. All his
11 Summ. test. pp. 195-196, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte of Austria, and Princess of Liechtenstein.
12 Summ. test. pp. 784-785, Countess Teresa Korff Schmising Kerssenbrock.
13 Summ. test. p. 128, Anna Tachezy.
14 Summ. test. p. 786, Countess Teresa Korff Schmising Kerssenbrock.
15 Summ. test. p. 63, § 80, Raffaella Schmalzhofer Holzlechner.
16 Summ. test. pp. 786-787, § 958, Countess Teresa Korff Schmising Kerssenbrock.
17 Summ. test. p. 563, § 744, Empress Zita of Austria and Queen of Hungary.
tutors remember him as a young man above reproach, with great self-control, modest and
reserved, and disinterested in relationships with women,18 while at the same time being happy
and joyful, and given to travelling and wholesome pursuits.19
Once when ice-skating, a jealous playmate purposely caused him to fall and Karl
suffered a very painful fracture of his leg, the effects of which he was to feel all of his life in
the form of a chronic walking impediment. This event provides important insights into his
character. He not only refused to tell the name of the boy who had caused him all this pain
but he also showed no signs of bitterness, even though he had to undergo an operation which
at that time was risky and painful because of the lack of anaesthetics.20
He went to grammar school at Vienna’s Schottengymnasium and then went on,
following his father Otto’s clear instructions,21 to take law and economic courses at the
University of Prague.
In 1903 he began his military career, following the custom of the day; at the tender age
of 16 he was made lieutenant of the 1st Ulan Regiment. At the same time he was awarded the
“Order of the Golden Fleece.” “The strong religious implications of this order, and the
ensuing privilege of being able to have Holy Mass said for oneself at any place, filled the
Servant of God with deep satisfaction.”22
As far as his life in the military is concerned the verdict likewise is unanimous: he was
always diligent and conscientious, friendly to his colleagues, always solicitous for them, and
without ever emphasizing his rank or position. He felt very much at home in the military and
wore the uniform almost until his death, not as a sign of power but rather of service to his
homeland. Much appreciated by all his colleagues, regardless of their race or creed, he
always confessed his faith openly and never missed his prayers, the Benedicite23 and the
Angelus.
It was during this time that a short period in his life occurred which his wife Zita called
a “darkening of a few months.” In her own words,
“…after his coming of age and the ensuing limitless freedom (his own home and money,
and separated from his family and all other previous pillars of support) he became lax in his
pursuit of perfection. An unfortunate piece of advice by Archduke [Franz] Ferdinand played a
major role in it. He had become Karl’s guardian upon the death of his father, and had the
reputation of being very Catholic. He wanted to give the young man some good advice and
said, ‘Guard yourself against women. But if you cannot, then do like I did: watch out for your
health!’ Since my father-in-law had died from a disease of that kind, these words struck the
young man like lightening. He began to think to himself that if someone like his uncle Franz
could give him this kind of advice, then the harshness with which this point had previously
been approached could probably not be justified by the faith either. And therefore, because
this sin in particular had always been presented to him as being especially grievous was
probably due to the concern that he might fall victim to this dangerous disease, like his father.
However, he continued to resist for quite some time the efforts of persuasion by some of his
fellow soldiers, who tried to convince him that there was ‘nothing to it.’ Finally, he wanted to
settle his doubts, which were also aggravated by his youthful age, in the confessional. The
priest must have misunderstood his question because the answer by no means directed him
towards the right path. But some time still passed before two of his comrades locked him in
with a woman. This marked the beginning of the ‘darkening,’ which was to last a few months.
18 Summ. test. p. 64, § 81, Raffaella Schmalzhofer Holzlechner.
19 Summ. test. add. p. 81, Margravine Crescenzia Pallavicini.
20 Summ. test. pp. 198-199, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
21 Summ. test. pp. 87-88, Letter of Archduke Otto of Austria.
22 Summ. test. pp. 67-68, § 20, Empress Zita.
23 Editor’s note: the author may be referring to the canticle found in Dan 3:57-90.
The Servant of God told me that during this time only a few lapses happened, since they
always filled him with remorse and disgust.
After a short period of time he put a definite end to this way of life and again began to
strife for a virtuous life. When the Servant of God had shared this with me, he asked me
whether I was still prepared to marry him after this revelation. He felt compelled by his
conscience to confess his lapses to me before the wedding. At the same time he vowed to
always remain faithful to me. Before our wedding the Servant of God told me that he had
made a vow before God to confess any lapse to me within twenty-four hours. He felt
compelled to do this also because of his parents’ unhappy marriage, for he thought that their
unhappiness was largely due to a lack of trust between his father and his mother.” 24
In 1911 he married Zita of Bourbon-Parma; it was certainly not on a whim. The two of
them had known each other from early childhood, since Karl was friends with her brothers.
Bishop Bisleti performed the wedding and read a sermon that Pius X had especially
prepared for the occasion. The Pope had granted a private audience to Karl’s fiancée a short
time before that, and had predicted he would one day become Emperor. He told her to rejoice
“because he saw the Servant of God to be Heaven’s reward to Austria for all her faithfulness
to Pope and Church.” 25
The Servant of God was certainly impressed by her wonderful, numerous family.
Mother Antonia of Bourbon-Parma, a sister of Zita’s and a Benedictine, is convinced that “the
Servant of God was deeply impressed by our beautiful family life, by the devoutly Christian
and very pure atmosphere in our house.”26
The bride and groom prepared themselves for marriage with great earnestness, fully
aware of how great a sacrament they were to receive. They were carefully guided along the
way by Father Karl Maria Andlau, the famous Jesuit preacher, whom Karl had gotten to know
at the Jesuit College in Kalksburg, where from an early age he had been going to participate in
sports.27 Father Andlau had a profound influence on the Servant of God’s life and for some
time was his confessor, too.
Karl was entirely serious when he told his bride, “Now we have to help each other to get
to heaven!”28 Fully trusting the grace of God, he had the following verse engraved in the
wedding bands: “Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix – We take refuge
under your protection, O Holy Mother of God,” and shortly after the wedding the young
couple made a pilgrimage to Mariazell, where the two entrusted their brand new marriage to
the Madonna’s protection.
The couple’s family life was described by Mother Maria Antonia in the following terms:
“It was a practical model of the Christian ideal, perfect harmony of mind and principles.
Without secrets, they were entirely open and transparent with one another. They were
optimistic by nature, and the grace of God produced in them a heroic confidence in God, a
fervent love for Christ and a limitless trust in His love, which was strengthened by devotion to
the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Madonna. The Servant of God always was the best
husband for his wife and an exemplary father to his children. They often prayed together and
were personally involved in the education of their children. The Servant of God frequently
discussed religious matters and the spiritual life with his wife. And if she helped him to open
up, he in his very simple way showed her the way to perfection.”29
Zita certainly had a marked influence on her husband’s spiritual growth, as she added
strong and deeply rooted Catholic traditions to the Habsburg family.
24 Summ. test. pp. 63-64, § 18, Empress Zita.
25 Summ. test. p. 568, Empress Zita.
26 Summ. test. p. 893, ad 100, Mother Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Parma.
27 Summ. test. p. 171, Baron Gustav Grimm-Szepes Etelvar.
28 Summ. test. p. 70, Empress Zita.
29 Summ. test. pp. 854-855, Mother Maria Antonia of Bourbon-Parma.
After the wedding Karl continued his career in the military, and, as had been the case
with his father, the frequent transfers were not always enjoyable for the young, growing
family.
With great excitement he took advantage of the opportunity to attend the Eucharistic
Congress in Vienna in 1912, with his wife, who soon thereafter gave birth to the first of his
eight beloved children, the last of whom was to see the light of day only after he had already
passed away.
After the assassination of his uncle, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on June 28, 1914, Karl
became heir to the throne. However, the murderss in Sarajevo marked the beginning of the
end. Europe and Austria would never be the same again, and Karl was catapulted into a fury
of events, one of the greatest tragedies of modern history.
“Immediately after the Archduke’s assassination in Sarajevo, Pius X sent a highranking
Vatican official carrying a letter to Karl in which he asked him to point out to Franz
Josef the dangers of a war which would bring unimaginable destruction to Austria and all of
Europe. However, the content of the letter had become known to circles which favored the
war and the official was held up at the border. Only much later did Karl learn about the
missive, but by that time the conflict was already in full swing and it was too late to call it
off.”30
After the war broke out, Karl joined the Supreme Military Command under Archduke
Friedrich and Field Marshal Conrad von Hötzendorf in order for him, the future Emperor, to
become acquainted with high military tactics. Previously, he had studied its theoretical
foundation at the Superior Command. On September 10, Karl joined the frontlines in Galicia,
but was pushed out of the Command by an antagonistic Conrad von Hötzendorf. As he now
felt superfluous at this post, he obtained a commission to visit the troops on the very frontlines
on behalf of the Emperor. Thus, he became acquainted with all the commanders at the front
and the soldiers at the various outposts of the front, decorating meritorious officers and
providing Franz Josef with unvarnished reports on military conditions. From 1916 on, Karl
was in command of the XXth Army Corps (Edelweiß). His efforts were decisive in bringing
about the victory in Rumania stopping the Russian advance, while the offensive on the Italian
front reached its peak at the victory of Folgaria.
While “history tells of his military accomplishments”31 no victory could give him
satisfaction: the sight of all the destruction and mangled corpses was entirely unbearable for
him, a man of peace.
It is said of him “that he remained absolutely calm in the midst of heavy gunfire,
holding in his hands the golden rosary which he silently prayed and always carried with him,
and had already completely worn out so that the young Archduchess had to obtain a new one
for him.”32 This rosary had been a gift of Pius X.33 One day, Karl threw himself into the wild
flood waters of the Isonzo river, risking his life to save one of his subordinates.34 In order to
avoid unnecessary casualties, he always – at the risk of his own life – personally inspected the
frontlines and tried in vain to obtain a truce after the fiercest battles so that the wounded could
be rescued.
Karl was immensely popular as commander of the Army Corps because he cared for the
physical and spiritual needs of his subordinates in the manner of a father for his children. In
this context, military chaplain Father Bruno Rudolf Spitzl tells of a forced march during his
regiment’s retreat to Arsiero in the Val d’Astico. The Servant of God compassionately took
care of an elderly soldier who was barely able to walk because of his sore feet. The doctor
30 Summ. test. p. 769, § 936, Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma.
31 Summ. test. pp. 367-369, Dr. Erich Thanner.
32 Summ. test. p. 369, Dr. Erich Thanner.
33 Summ. test. p. 564, § 746, Empress Zita.
34 Summ. test. p. 328, ad 13, Baroness Zdenka von Gudenus.
thought him to be a malingerer and harshly rebuked the soldier. Karl, however, had him
examine the poor fellow right there in his presence: “The doctor did not feel very well, as he
had to see with his own eyes the terrible state of the man’s feet and hear the heir to the throne
tell him, ‘I believe that, with feet like these, neither you nor I would have marched as far as
this man has! Have him taken to the hospital immediately. I will call later for a report.’”35
Father Spitzl also tells of the diligent concern for the spiritual care of his soldiers that
the Servant of God showed at his various inspections, and how deeply pleased he appeared to
be when he found out that “in this regiment little significance was placed on religious
pageantry, but rather the chief concern was to enable each battalion, even on the frontlines,
to celebrate mass at least once a month and to receive the sacraments.”36
As a man, he perfectly fulfilled a good officer’s code of honor; as a Christian, however,
he always tried to practice physical and spiritual works of charity towards his neighbor.
On 21 November 1916 his great-uncle Franz Josef died, and Karl became Emperor
under the name of Karl I.
Empress Zita recalls this memorable occasion, “On November 21, 1916, at Emperor
Franz Josef’s deathbed, the reign passed on to the Servant of God. It was a terribly moving
moment: Karl had knelt down in front of the painting showing the ‘Madonna with the Bowed
Head,’ a rosary in his hands.”37
“Upon his firm request, a phrase was added to his inaugural governmental address
stating the young Emperor’s fervent desire for peace.”38
On December 30th of the same year he was crowned Apostolic King of Hungary, Karl
IV.
The Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy went back to the year 1867, when the
recognition of Hungary’s autonomy marked the separation of the empire’s territory into two
distinct parts: Cisleithania under Austrian administration, and Transleithania under
Hungarian supervision. While they each had their separate constitutions, governments, and
prime ministers, both parts shared one emperor, the Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary,
as well as common ministries for foreign affairs, finance and war.
His wife wrote about the occasion, “For him the coronation had an extraordinary
meaning: for him it was an investiture that the Church performed in the name of God. The
Servant of God accepted all the duties to which he was sworn on this occasion with a
profound faith, and made them his future life’s guiding principles. At the coronation, the
entire people were entrusted by God to the Emperor’s care. From that moment on, he had to
live for his subjects, care for them, pray for them, suffer for them and sanctify himself so as to
be able to lead them to God. The day of his coronation was a great moment in the Servant of
God’s life, from which he steadily journeyed on towards God.”39
This point indeed is crucial for one’s understanding of the Servant of God’s later
decisions: “The grace of his rule was given to him by God; and the consecration by the
Church was essential to him.”40 That is why he was planning on also being solemnly anointed
Emperor of Austria as soon as the war ended. A purely formal oath on a constitution, which
he incidentally also intended to have changed, by no means reflected his personal conviction.
He was a ruler by God’s grace, not for his personal glory but rather, to serve his peoples and
the Church of Christ. Following the spiritual maxim of St. Robert Bellarmine, he was to carry
the sceptre as the cross.
35 Summ. docc., pp. 165-166, Father Bruno Rodolfo Spitzl.
36 Summ. test., p. 166, Father Bruno Rodolfo Spitzl.
37 Summ. test., p. 533, Empress Zita.
38 Summ. test., p. 369, § 540, Dr. Erich Thanner.
39 Summ. test., pp. 533-534, Empress Zita.
40 Summ. test., p. 142, ad 16, Anna Francesca Maria Larnich.
A few days after his coronation, Karl automatically became commander-in-chief of all
his armed forces. In this capacity, too, he frequently visited the front, advancing all the way
to the foremost lines and participating in many battles, where he exhibited exemplary courage
and calm in the midst of exploding enemy artillery fire. The sight of the gruesome slaughter,
however, brought him into sharp conflict with moral and religious principles that were so
deeply engrained in him. A few hours after the eleventh battle at the Isonzo River, court
photographer Schuhmann saw him crying at the sight of charred and disfigured corpses. He
heard him say, “No one can justify this before God. I will put an end to it as soon as
possible.”41
As Emperor he had a growing conviction that he had to take all possible diplomatic
routes to achieve peace; he thought so despite his German allies who accused him of
cowardice because they knew only one kind of peace, “victorious peace.”
In the meantime, he made use of all his powers to at least reduce the cruelty of the war;
he firmly opposed the use of poisonous gas on the eastern front; he was immovable in his
decision not to shell Italian towns; he fought against the use of submarines which were to
attack enemy towns along the Adriatic coast, especially Venice; and all this despite the
mockery, fury and accusations coming from his German ally. To him, the civilian population
was absolutely inviolable.
“In particular, he had those who were responsible for the outbreak of the war removed
or sent to posts of no political or military importance.”42
At the same time he took up with great fervor Father Wilhelm Schmidt’s idea to
establish “soldiers’ homes” at all fronts, in order to keep the troops’ morale high. Everyone
was to have access to them, should feel right at home, be able to find distractions from war,
and buy affordable treats. Unobjectionable newspapers and magazines, books and games
were to be found there as well. Thus, the soldiers were to be kept from spending their time
with less uplifting distractions, which would be detrimental to them physically and spiritually.
Incidentally, these institutions later became a model for all nations waging war.
Naturally, not all of the Servant of God’s initiatives were similarly accepted. General
Bardoff for instance felt compelled to challenge the Emperor’s sweeping measures against
certain “immoral practices” (i.e. brothels) in the armed forces, because the high-ranking
officers thought them to “make sense from a hygienic perspective.”43 The Emperor personally
saw to the distribution of rosaries among the soldiers and issued a rescript calling for Holy
Mass and sermons to be said in the soldiers’ quarters not just on Sundays and Holidays, but
also every day of the week.44
As far as possible he strove to improve and make more humane the lot of prisoners of
war; he participated in initiatives between Austria-Hungary, Russia and Italy to exchange
prisoners. He personally verified that prisoners were treated well in the camps, supported
those returning to their homes as best he could, and opposed the repression of remnant
populations in enemy territory.45
The fiercest opposition arose to his outlawing of duelling, evidently a very widespread
custom that proved difficult to root out.
“It is important to realize that by rejecting duelling the Servant of God potentially faced
the loss of civil standing (both his military rank and royal title), exclusion from public life,
and possible banishment. … His persistent battle against duelling, which eventually
culminated in the practice’s complete ban, did indeed cost him some of his standing and
support among the officers in the armed forces. However, he preferred to accept this
41 Summ. test., p. 371, ad 18, Dr. Erich Thanner.
42 Summ. test., p. 466, ad 18, Baron Karl Werkmann von Hohensalzburg.
43 Summ. docc., p. 267.
44 Summ. test., p. 176, § 272, Baron Gustav Grimm-Szepes Etelvar.
45 Summ. test., p. 636, § 821, Empress Zita.
drawback, even during wartime, rather than to overlook or tolerate his officers’ persistence in
this sin.”46
Similarly, since he thought it to be inhumane, the Servant of God had the punishment of
“binding”47 (i.e. corporal punishment), abolished, which had previously been meted out to
soldiers regularly.
Towards the end of the war the shortage of supplies took on dramatic proportions:
hunger, deprivation and death proved to be the real victors in the conflict.
The Servant of God made every effort to share in the destitution of his people and to
help reduce it: he organized soup kitchens, had horses from the imperial stable haul coal for
the population of Vienna, fought desperately against corruption and usury, and gave away
more than his means allowed. He and his family lived on official wartime rations.48 He
forbade anyone in his family to eat white bread, which he instead passed out to the sick and
the wounded, and he banned delicacies from his house. Small wonder that his officers
remarked that the food on the frontlines was better than that in the Emperor’s own home.49
He carefully avoided any form of nepotism and forced his brother Max, who enjoyed
spending time in Vienna too much, to return to the front and perform his duty just like any
other officer.50
He also forbade officers to requisition homes near the frontlines and permitted them to
use hotels and inns only. This is one reason he was also called “Patron of homes.”51
Karl understood that the exterior peace he so desired could only be achieved if one’s
own house was in order. In order to achieve this, he undertook social measures drawing on
the encyclical “Rerum novarum” for inspiration. His initiatives establishing ministries for
social assistance and health stem from this desire. He pondered the idea of remodelling his
monarchy into a federal state in which every nation would be free to develop unhindered
within its own respective region, and considered agricultural reform in Bohemia and Hungary.
He had laws passed in favor of the working classes bringing great advancements, such as the
introduction of price control, to make life easier for the less affluent.
The highest officials of the state were to become unpaid positions, and their official
apartments were no longer to be decorated luxuriously. He increased the pay of the Court’s
employees and gave fill-time employment to day-laborers, with their years of service as daylaborers
counting towards their pensions.
Without hesitation, he punished all those who abused their positions and roles in the
affairs of state for personal gain; General Auffenberg was relieved of his position as the
Empire’s Minister of War and was put before a court of honor because he had accepted
compensation for the delivery of new howitzers from the Skoda works.52 He forbade the
General of the Artillery, Archduke Leopold Salvador, to personally sell his invention to the
artillery and required him to return all profits resulting from his patent. He simply thought it
to be unethical for a rich Archduke to receive remuneration for his invention when he
personally directed the Austrian Artillery to use it.53 The same thing happened to another
wealthy archduke who had a lucrative business selling dried vegetables to the military. He
was permitted to only make the same profits as a regular agro-business owner. The Servant of
God despised the thought of profiteering from one’s fellow man’s starvation.54
46 Summ. test., pp. 509-510, ad 38, Baron Karl Werkmann von Hohensalzburg.
47 Summ. test., p. 521, §702, Baron Karl Werkmann von Hohensalzburg.
48 Summ. test., p. 370, ad 17, Dr. Erich Thanner.
49 Summ. test., pp. 173-174, ad 17, Baron Gustav Grimm-Szepes Etelvar.
50 Summ. test., p. 247, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
51 Summ. test., 635, § 818, Empress Zita.
52 Summ. test., p. 189, § 293, Baron Gustav Grimm-Szepes Etelvar.
53 Summ. test., p. 524, § 706, Baron Karl Werkmann von Hohensalzburg.
54 Summ. test., pp. 247-248, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
He drew up new legislation designed to protect youth, banning “trash” literature; he
prevented the formation of a press conglomerate under the leading Freemason Dr. Sieghard;
and he proposed, unfortunately without success, that the bishops create emergency churches
in Vienna’s overpopulated areas and conduct widespread missions throughout the entire
monarchy.55
In his untiring pursuit of peace and justice, on July 2, 1917, he passed a general amnesty
designed to rectify the many injustices created by military tribunals, such as a farmer in
Galicia who was accused of treason because he had prayed for the Czar, or a female dancer
who suffered the same fate for responding disrespectfully to a soldier who had harassed her.56
His wife Zita had seen it coming: all these acts brought hostility against and slander about the
Servant of God.
He was well aware of these consequences and remarked that he had never expected
gratefulness, but rather he was solely concerned with justice and the reconciliation of peoples.
He was content knowing that he had performed his duty to God and neighbor.57 And to him
the power to show mercy was the most beautiful privilege that came with the crown.
The more the Servant of God had to contend on a daily basis with disappointments,
failures and slander, the more his spiritual life prospered and grew deeper.
In the Servant of God’s case, as is so often the case with rulers, base and ignoble slurs
were especially directed at him, particularly by groups and organisations who opposed him for
the simple reason that of all of Europe’s rulers he was the most Catholic and faithful to Rome.
In the course of the beatification process the background of these slurs was studied in
depth, and on October 13, 1977, Monsignor Amato Pietro Frutaz, the Congregation’s Undersecretary
for Canonizations and Beatifications, declared, “The slurs, which were circulated on
purpose to bring shame on the Emperor and discredit him with the people, caused the Servant
of God much grief, especially as they were devoid of any factual foundation.
The gravest accusations were love affairs, drunkenness, an unhappy marriage and
ensuing unfaithfulness. The ‘memories’ of a certain Ms. Lauffer, an unhappy, aggressive,
lying prostitute, whom the tribunal found to be ‘suspicious and lacking in credibility,’ are
nothing but a collection of unproven statements and obscenities – lacking any factual basis …
and written from greed in order to extort money.
The testimonies of witnesses who were acquainted with the Servant of God’s public and
private life, and who were examined during the inquest in Vienna, shed much light on these
rumors. … All accusations falsely directed at the Servant of God proved to be entirely
untenable and stand in stark contrast to all of his convictions and principles as described in
71 texts.58 The words of St. Matthew’s Gospel offer a very poignant description of this:
“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against
you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” 59
Even his family relationships were not without disappointments. Time and again Karl
tried to settle or avoid disputes, as was the case in a contested inheritance involving him and
his brother. In order to keep the peace the dispute was never settled in the Emperor’s lifetime,
even though it meant the most severe material limitations for him.60 His guardian, Franz
Ferdinand, having him, as an inexperienced minor, sign his legacy away in favor of Franz
Ferdinand’s sons represents a similar case. In this case, too, he stood by his signature even
though it had come about in an illegal manner.61
55 Summ. test., p. 403, ad 51, Father Guglielmo Schmidt.
56 Summ. test., p. 203, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
57 Summ. test., pp. 656-657; § 846, Empress Zita.
58 Summ. test. add., pp. 125-126, Monsignor Amato Pietro Frutaz.
59 Matt 5:11-12 .
60 Summ. test., p. 232, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
61 Summ. test., p. 248, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
He drew the strength to endure all of these trials from incessant prayer and continual
communion with God, which he fostered by daily participation in Holy Mass, Eucharistic
worship, and adoration of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. He went to confession every eight
days and took the observance of Sundays and Lent very seriously. He loved the Psalms, two
of which he prayed daily, the “Miserere” and Psalm 90. 62
He was especially devoted to the Mother of God and frequently prayed the rosary, a
devotion he also practiced with his family. He reverently wore the scapular according to the
tradition of the confraternity to which he belonged, and in which he also enrolled all of his
children. In honor of the Virgin, the children were given the middle name of Maria, and up to
the age of three were only permitted to wear clothes in the colors of the Madonna to whom
they had been dedicated. 63
He also attached a medal of the Mother of God to his children’s cradle.64
He often meditated on the Stations of the Cross in the house chapel, alone.65
Before making any important decision the Servant of God would withdraw to the chapel
by himself to weigh his decision before the Sanctum Sanctorum and to “pray about it,” as he
used to say.66
He also deeply adored the Holy Spirit. During the peace negotiations he prayed the Veni
Creator daily after Holy Mass. And after the peace accord he decided to keep up this
beautiful habit, since he was convinced that the world needed enlightenment from above more
than ever.67
On October 2, 1918, at his son Otto’s First Communion he dedicated his entire family to
the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and included all nations of the monarchy in this act. The
prayer of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was prayed in the family chapel on every
first Friday of the month, and the litany and the Little Office of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were
among his favorite prayers.68
Corpus Christi Day was strictly observed every year, which is why Bishop Fischer-
Colbry also called him “the Eucharistic Emperor.”69
He also especially revered St. Michael the Archangel, whom he declared patron saint of
his imperial army. His children were taught to pray to their guardian angels daily. He much
revered St. Joseph, as well, which is why “Joseph” was added to his children’s middle name
of “Maria.”
He fervently supported the cause of Father Marco d’Aviano’s beatification; and, he
honored Brother Konrad of Parzham, who had already been canonized at this time, carrying a
relic of this saint with him up until his fatal sickness. The canonized parish priest Maaß von
Fließ in the Tyrol and, naturally, the various patron saints of his multiple countries and St.
Charles Borromeo were also objects of his special devotion.70
He never began any meal without saying grace, and wherever he was he prayed the
Angelus at noon.
He valued indulgences and strove to obtain them. For example, he fervently and
joyfully obtained the Portiuncula Indulgence year after year. He also highly revered his Cross
for a Happy Death, to which a Plenary Indulgence for the Hour of Death had been granted and
which he always carried on himself.71
62 Summ. test., p. 567, § 748, Empress Zita.
63 Summ. test., p. 148, § 226; Anna Francesca Maria Lamich.
64 Summ. test., p. 214, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
65 Summ. test., p. 511, ad 41, Baron Karl Werkmann von Hohensalzburg.
66 Summ. test., p. 558, § 740, Empress Zita.
67 Summ. test., p. 555, Empress Zita.
68 Summ. test., p. 556, Empress Zita.
69 Summ. test., p. 556, Empress Zita.
70 Summ. test., pp. 566-567, Empress Zita
71 Summ. test., p. 579, § 49.
He constantly confessed his faith publicly without ever hiding it for opportunistic or
convenient reasons. He naturally participated in Corpus Christi processions, mentioned God
by name in his writings, prayed for an end to the schism in Bohemia and thought that the fact
that Austria did not possess a major Catholic newspaper was a disgrace.
His uprightness was without compromise. Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte relates a
revealing episode, “The German government had devised a plan by which to bring down
Russia and Italy: In a sealed railway carriage, certain leading communists were to be
clandestinely introduced to Russia and Italy via Germany. If I am not mistaken, in the case of
Russia those concerned were Lenin and Trotsky. I cannot remember who was intended for
Italy. In any event, these men were to spark revolutions in their countries. Thus, the fronts
would self-implode. The Servant of God rejected the plan with utmost determination for two
reasons; primarily, because Communism fights against religion; secondarily, from the
discernment that political ideologies are not confined to national borders. My father’s refusal
meant that no communist could be introduced to Italy; by the same token, Austria was not
responsible for the fact that Germany now had Lenin behind its back in Russia.”72
So it was not without reason that Clemenceau once observed: “The Emperor Karl is like
a Pope in central Europe.”73
His loyalty and childlike obedience to the Church of Christ were matchless. Always
ready to defend and support the Church, as a faithful son he accepted the abolition of the
emperor’s right to veto the election of a pope, and perpetually gave up the right to present and
invest bishops in certain dioceses – all for the sole purpose of safeguarding the interests of the
Holy See, even at the expense of his own imperial prerogatives.74
His love for the Church of Christ brought upon him the enmity of powerful Freemasons
in France, who also had adherents in high places in Austria: ministers, bankers, press moguls,
etc. When Dr. Sieghard, who was known to be a high-ranking Freemason, was dismissed
from his post as director of an influential bank it created a stir in France too. From that
moment on the Freemasons, who from 1915 onward were scheming to break up the Empire,
repeatedly launched attacks on him.75
He did not permit anyone to speak disrespectfully of the pope or the Vatican in his
presence. Benedict XV called him his “favorite son,” and, as his daughter Elisabeth
Charlotte reminisces, “It was from love of the Pope that he reacted immediately to the Holy
Father’s messages. He was the only head-of-state who sent an answer to the Pope’s peace
message of December 24, 1916. When Benedict XV issued a prayer for peace, he had it
printed immediately. Copies were all over our chapel. And when our private chaplain
stopped saying these prayers after a month, my father asked him to please continue to pray
them. At first the chaplain did not want to pray them because he thought that the Holy Father
only had them said to prevent Italy’s defeat at the hands of Austria. Upon my father’s
persistent requests, the cleric showed some indignation but finally continued to say them. …
Many problems were caused with the joint peace efforts of the Servant of God and the Holy
Father by the papal nuncio in Vienna, at the time Valfré di Bonzo, who misunderstood many
things and interpreted them diametrically opposite of their meanings. When my father visited
Munich, he spent several hours talking with Papal Nuncio Pacelli, and later asked for
Archbishop Pacelli to be sent to Vienna as nuncio. He also told my mother that if Pacelli
would come to Vienna ‘the two of us would be able to bring about peace.’”76
Peace was Benedict XV’s ardent concern, and the only pursuit that Karl knew. In order
to achieve this goal he tried every possible way, including attempting a separate peace accord
72 Summ. test., pp. 221-222, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
73 Summ. test., p. 445, ad 53, Archduke Robert of Austria.
74 Summ. test., p. 244, § 363, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
75 Summ. test., pp. 222-224, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
76 Summ. test., pp. 215-216, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
with France which was sabotaged by the intrigues of his own Foreign Minister, Count Ottokar
Czernin.
We will attempt to look at the reasons which led to the signing of a false word of honor
in the so-called “Sixtus Affair” and which are documented in the Positio, from the only
viewpoint of interest to us, namely the Servant of God’s Christian conduct in every situation.
Dr. Friedrich Funder was an direct eyewitness of the events and tells of a visit of the former
foreign minister to his office: “Naturally, our conversation circled around the critical point,
i.e. how it had been possible for the Emperor to issue a qualifying text on the topic of the
return of Alsace-Lorainne that differed from the letter sent to Sixtus and which Clemenceau
eventually quoted verbatim on the topic. In doing so, he is said to have turned the French
statesman into an irreconcilable enemy of Austria. For the Emperor Karl had to provide a
written affidavit to the new text which Ottokar Czernin had received. One asks how this could
have been possible in light of the obvious fact that the text quoted by Clemenceau was
authentic. And that is when I learned the shocking truth.
In the course of our conversation, Czernin became more and more agitated and finally
jumped to his feet, ‘My life and the honor of my family are at stake,’ he shouted, ‘I found the
Emperor stretched out on a couch, with a bag on his head. He was fatigued, totally
exhausted. I told him, ‘Either you sign the declaration or I’ll shoot myself!’ That’s when he
signed it. - ‘But how could you do this, entirely against all truth?,’ I cried in disgust. All of a
sudden our conversation was over, never to be continued again.”77
The relater-general, Father Ambrosius Esser, develops the following argument on this
point, “…all conceivable mental reservations aside, the Servant of God was confronted with a
truly unsolvable ‘casus complexus’ and, to boot, suffered an acute heart attack. As did all
good Catholics of the time, he believed that a suicide’s soul went straight to hell. And in his
excitement, Count Czernin was entirely capable of putting the threat of suicide into action.
Had this happened, the Emperor would have had to carry, for the rest of his life, the burden of
having caused a soul’s eternal damnation, and he would also have been accused of having
been the cause of his foreign minister’s act of desperation. Czernin certainly had been the
young monarch’s poorest choice for minister, but he had felt compelled to follow his
assassinated uncle’s advice. And it was impossible to have predicted that Czernin was to
become the blind tool of General Ludendorff, the German military command’s ‘black
soul’.”78
In his decisive efforts for peace, the Servant of God had to accept that he was presented
as a weakling and a coward. For his tenacious efforts “were sometimes also seen as treason
against his German ally, which only accepted a ‘victorious peace.’”79
Finally we read that “his noble efforts were doomed to failure, in part because of the
incompetence of the diplomats on both sides and in part because of their callousness, so that
the radical left-wing French writer Anatole France correctly concluded that ‘Emperor Karl
was the only decent man who held a prominent position in this war. But his voice went
unheeded. He honestly desired peace, and that’s why the entire world despised him. Thus, a
unique opportunity went to waste.’”80
The Servant of God’s downfall was, according to François Fejtò, the triumph of those
“who were obsessed with a total victory … During the course of the war, the conventional
wisdom of overcoming differences through negotiations and compromise reached repeated
dead ends, and an entirely new concept emerged: the idea of total victory, no matter the cost.
It was no longer about forcing the enemy to merely retreat, but rather about inflicting
irreparable harm upon him as well. This concept of total victory meant an a priori rejection
77 Summ. test., p.699, Empress Zita.
78 Relatio et vota dei Consultori storici, p. 83.
79 Summ. test., p. 144, ad 20, Anna Francesca Maria Lamich.
80 Summ. test., pp. 272-273, § 403, Ermano Büeler de Florin.
of any sensible effort to end senseless massacres through compromise. Warfare not only
changed in a quantitative sense, but, to use a Hegelian term, in a ‘qualitative’ sense, too.
This idea did not solely stem from the embitterment of military leaders in the face of failure or
a stalemate in battles that they had thought to be decisive. Neither did it originate in the
various cabinets of diplomats. It rather seemed to rise from the depths of the masses. It
represented a quasi-mystical aspect, an ideology, which consisted of demonizing the enemy,
and turning a power struggle into a metaphysical battle and a battle between good and evil
into a crusade.”81
With the psalmist we can say, “When foundations are being destroyed, what can the just
do?” (Ps 11:3). Thus, despite all of Karl’s efforts weapons alone finally brought peace.
1918 was the year of capitulation. On the Piave, on the Marne, in Amiens, in Vittorio,
Veneto, everywhere, the fate of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire was sealed.
Wilson announced his “Fourteen Points” for world peace. Rumania signed a peace accord
with the Entente, Bulgaria capitulated, Czechoslovakia and Poland declared their
independence, Turkey signed an armistice, and the German Kaiser abdicated making it
possible for the creation of the weak Weimar Republic.
In this dramatic moment the Emperor was alone, and without any protection. In the
Schönbrunn Palace, not even the imperial guard remained. Only a group of young cadets had
volunteered to serve as guards.82 The regular troops were still at the front, so that even should
he have wanted to, he would not have had the means to mount an opposition to the growing
unrest in the streets, which was led by “irresponsible political persons.”83
In order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, and under pressure from his ministers, the
Emperor signed on November 11, 1918, the following manifesto: “Always being filled with a
burning love for all my peoples, I do not want to hinder their free development. I accept in
advance what German-Austria will decide on her future political organization. The people
have taken over the government through its representatives. I renounce any share in the
affairs of state. At the same time, I relieve my Austrian Government of its mandate.”84
As Count Czernin remembers: “When the Monarchy collapsed, the Servant of God
conducted himself, as in all other situations, in an admirable fashion. He did not abdicate his
claim to the throne, for, to him, the rule by the grace of God had been placed on him as a duty
which he was not permitted to shun. He temporarily renounced the exercise of his imperial
prerogatives and accepted all the adversity he was experiencing as the Will of God. The
Servant of God’s sole desire, in this situation too, was to avoid any bloodshed. He was fully
absorbed with the principle of Christian charity. That is why he could only act this way and
no other.”85
The following day, November 12, 1918, the demise of the Monarchy and the Republic
were proclaimed, the imperial property was confiscated and that same evening Karl, together
with his entire family, had to leave Vienna and withdraw to his hunting estate of Eckartsau.
But before leaving Schönbrunn he paid a final visit to the Most Blessed Sacrament.86 At the
same time revolution was spreading in Hungary and rebels killed Prime Minister Tisza.
In Eckartsau a difficult and humiliating time for him was yet to come: he was treated
like a common prisoner, was placed under an English colonel’s strict surveillance night and
day (amongst other things, to spare the Habsburg family from the same fate the Romanovs
81 François Fejtö, Requiem per un impero defunto. Milano: 1990.
82 Summ. test., p. 84, ad 26, Anna Hubalek Pohl.
83 Summ. test., p. 378, ad 26, Dr. Erich Thanner.
84 Summ. test., p. 581, Empress Zita.
85 Summ. test., p. 358, § 530, Count Ottokar Czernin-Chudenitz.
86 Summ. test., p. 542, ad 27, Empress Zita.
had suffered in Russia) and was closely watched by the “Red Guards,” who often interfered
with the delivery of food. By spring 1919, Karl had fallen ill.87
In these circumstances, too, the Servant of God continued to pray the Te Deum every
evening, and had it sung on December 31, 1918, as well, as a song of thanksgiving for all that
the year that had just ended had brought. It had been suggested to him to skip the Te Deum
that year but he responded that much grace had been given that year for which thanks needed
to be said. He explained that especially during the past year the dear Lord had given him
extraordinary signs of His goodness, indeed, He had even showered him with them. The year
certainly had been hard, but it could have been much more tragic, too. And if we received
with thankfulness all good things from the hands of God, how much more we needed to
receive even the most painful things with the same thankfulness, and additionally, the year
had brought an end to the international carnage.88
He never was restless or nervous; on the contrary, he was happy to finally be able to
spend more time with his wife and children.
At the time many pleaded with him to abdicate. But nothing could change his mind.
When his brother Max and three other Archdukes came to see him and tried to persuade him
to abdicate so as to prevent the confiscation of all the family’s possessions, the Servant of
God simply retorted that the crown was not for sale for money.89
In view of his firm refusal to abdicate, the government of German-Austria finally
expelled him from her territory after Switzerland had agreed to grant the family asylum.
On March 23, 1919 the imperial family moved to Switzerland, and on April 3, 1919 the
National Assembly of German-Austria declared his expulsion and the confiscation of all
properties, including the personal belongings of the Emperor and his entire family.
Testimonies by several witnesses concur that during the time of the Swiss exile, highranking
Freemasons on more than one occasion had offered to intervene on behalf of the
Servant of God for him to regain his throne, which, incidentally, had not been taken from him
without their influence, on the condition of more liberal laws on marriage, a liberal school
system and the legalization of Freemasonry in Austria.90 The Servant of God’s answer to
these kinds of offers was truly exemplary: “What I have received from God I cannot accept
from the devil’s hands.”91
“As Apostolic King of Hungary the Servant of God always felt compelled to do whatever
he could to help that country back on its feet again. At that time he was especially moved by
Pope Benedict XV’s request for him to return to Hungary and establish a bulwark for the
Church in that nation.”92 This statement by Empress Zita was confirmed by the last Cabinet
Director, the Hungarian Dr. Alàdar von Boroviczény,93 and reveals the deeper motives which
led to the Servant of God’s two unsuccessful attempts at restoration. The first, which was
begun on March 24, 1921, failed after twelve days. The King abruptly withdrew his bid in
order to avoid civil war and the intervention of foreign powers.
On his return to Switzerland, surveillance of him was tightened and he was required to
notify the authorities if he intended to depart from Switzerland. This was designed to thwart a
renewed attempt at a restoration in Hungary, where Karl incidentally was still recognized as
the legitimate King – even by “Lieutenant-General” Admiral Horthy, who was in power at
the time.
87 Summ. test., pp. 490-491, §§ 673-674, Baron Karl Werkmann von Hohensalzburg; pp. 204-205, ad 27,
Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
88 Summ. test., pp. 602-603, § 784, Empress Zita.
89 Summ. test., p. 204, Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
90 Summ. test., p. 133, § 202, Sister Giuseppe del Povero Bambino Gesu.
91 Summ. test., p. 145, § 221, Anna Francesca Maria Lamich.
92 Summ. test., p. 545, § 730, Empress Zita.
93 Summ. test., pp. 397-398, § 572, Dr. Alàdar de Boroviczény.
Even during his time in exile, he showed great devotion by visiting various places of
pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin. At Maria Einsiedeln the monks were uplifted by the
reverence he showed the holy image. And, despite the meagreness of his finances he left a
gift of a precious ring with a rare black pearl, which was then added to the Madonna’s
crown.94 Daily Communion was absolutely essential to him. If he was not able to receive it
at home, he sought to receive it in a church along his way. He prayed the Angelus every day
with his children; and when he stayed in the Protestant canton of Vaud he was saddened to no
longer hear the “Angelus bells” ring.95
Once again politicians from various nations – who pointed to the catastrophic situation
in Hungary and feared that it may cause a strengthening of Germany at the expense of the
dissolved Austro-Hungarian Empire – pushed for a restoration in Hungary. Additionally,
there was the obligation required of the King of Hungary – under penalty of deposition – to
spend some time at least once a year in the realm of St. Stephen. Primarily, however, Karl was
moved by the growing concerns of the Holy Father, who already began to fear a sovietization
of Europe.96 Thus, he launched one last attempt at a restoration in Hungary, which also failed.
On the question of whether this attempt, which cost many lives too, was justifiable, one of the
historical consultants reached the following conclusion: “The Servant of God was in
Switzerland against his will and really was only tolerated there; his realm was in a state of
chaos. He felt that the last opportunity to fulfill his mandate, which to him was a commission
from God received under oath and which many expected him to fulfill, had come. So it was
primarily for reasons of morality that he acted the way he did and no other way. Of course,
the question remains of whether this renewed return was smart. The judgements (of the
military experts also) are unanimous in that it was the last possible moment in which to
act.”97
On his train ride to Hungary he did not want to go without being fortified by Holy
Communion either, so at Bia Torbagy he asked the Reverend Father David to celebrate Mass
alongside the railroad tracks, and again the following day in a railway-car shop at the train
station.98
Four days after the second failed attempt at restoration, the Servant of God was arrested
and taken to the Abbey of Tihany as a prisoner, separated from his entourage and under strict
surveillance. “There he was denied participation in Holy Mass and Holy Communion, even
on a high holiday. This treatment of him on the part of Horthy was strongly criticized, even in
anti-monarchist circles.”99
He was constantly urged to abdicate, and he continually refused to do so in no uncertain
terms. Finally Horthy sought the support of Hungary’s Cardinal Primate, Archbishop Janos
Csernoch, in order to obtain the monarch’s voluntary abdication so that the deposition of the
King would seem less absurd and illegal. But the cardinal, who was loyal to the King retorted,
“I have crowned the King. I cannot now accept your commission to try and persuade him to
renounce the throne.”100
On October 20, 1921 the Cardinal and the King met: “The Cardinal was deeply moved
by his audience with the royal couple. The King’s hair had turned grey; the Queen was
emaciated, tired and discouraged. The two of them both spoke very calmly and deliberately.
Their faith was unshakeable. And they were deeply convinced of the necessity of their
cause.”101
94 Summ. test., pp. 444-445, Emilia Gehrig.
95 Summ. test., p. 555, Empress Zita.
96 Summ. docc., p. 1079.
97 Relatio et vota Consultori storici, p. 46.
98 Summ. test., p. 560, Empress Zita.
99 Summ. test., p. 179, Baron Gustav Grimm-Szepes Etelvar.
100 Summ. docc., pp. 420-421.
101 Summ. docc., pp. 420-421.
The Primate reported to the bishops’ conference that he had clearly pointed out to the
King the difficulty of the situation, and the danger of military involvement by foreign powers.
The King, he said, had explained his position: he had taken an oath on the crown and
therefore felt it to be his solemn duty to defend St. Stephen’s crown. Which is why he was
ready to accept fate’s difficult ordeal and to “consciously climb Mount Calvary with faith and
determination.” He explained to the Cardinal that he had by no means abdicated, and the
Primate agreed, for a voluntary abdication would have been worse than his dethronement by
force.”102
Meanwhile, he wrote to his children who had been taken to Wartegg Castle, telling them
not to loose hope and to pray even more fervently before the tabernacle.103
After very difficult and humiliating days at the Abbey of Tihany, the imperial couple
was handed over to the English and taken to a ship on the Danube, which was headed for an
unknown destination.
Before his departure, the Servant of God received an Apostolic Blessing from the Papal
Nuncio, along with encouraging words the Pope had sent to him. The British commander of
the ship describes the Servant of God’s behavior in this situation: “He proved to be a devout
Catholic, and gave the most sublime example of courage and dignity in the face of adversity
that I have ever seen.”104
Zita tells of their painful voyage: “After we had changed ships several times, after we
had passed Constantinople, the Dardanelles, and the islands of Greece, and after we began
heading towards the coast of Africa, we continued towards Gibraltar where we finally learned
the destination of our voyage. While the officers on duty tried their best to make our stay
more bearable, the furnishings of this warship were very primitive. … The Servant of God was
distressed not to be able to participate in Holy Mass and to receive Holy Communion. He
asked for it repeatedly before we reached Gibraltar, but in vain. … While at Gibraltar, a
priest was given permission to celebrate Holy Mass onboard the ship. The Servant of God
served at the altar and we both received Holy Communion. On this occasion we also made
confession and asked for holy water. After a short stay we continued the journey to Madeira,
where we landed on November 19, 1921.”105
To the Servant of God the final five months of his life, spent in exile on a far-off island
in the Atlantic, were like a furnace in which fine gold is tested: suffering, humiliation,
disappointment, rejection, deprivation and poverty were his daily bread. And yet, no one ever
heard from his lips a single complaint or indictment against his persecutors. In an everincreasing
manner, his focus was on God, Who had ordained for him a different direction; he
accepted his new path to climb Mount Calvary with Christ and to embrace the cross.
Upon his arrival in Madeira the Servant of God was faced with utter ruin: he had no
money, no news from Europe and was separated from his children. The first thing he asked
for, however, was that in the small home he was to live in temporarily, a private chapel should
be created for the daily celebration of the Eucharist.
He totally submitted himself to God’s Will, indeed, “even before his fatal illness he
understood that God wanted from him the sacrifice of his life. And he made that sacrifice
courageously and willingly, because, after all, God wanted him to. Indeed, he spontaneously
presented the sacrifice of his life to God for the benefit of the Church and the immortal
souls.”106
When after several months he had succeeded in reuniting his entire family, he received
more devastating news: his personal jewels, from which he had planned for them to live on
102 Summ. docc., pp. 421-422.
103 Summ. test., p. 146, Anna Francesca Maria Lamich.
104 Summ. docc., pp. 166-167.
105 Summ. test., pp. 552-553, Empress Zita.
106 Summ. test., pp. 553-554, § 733, Empress Zita.
the proceeds from their sale, had been stolen. Since they now were no longer able to pay the
rent for the house in Funchal where they had been living, they had to accept the offer of a
wealthy Portuguese man to use his summer villa on top of a mountain: comprised of three
very primitive rooms.
On the 19th of February they moved to their new home, which clearly was not
adequately equipped for use during this cold and foggy season. It was almost impossible to
heat, and to live there was very unhealthy. The witnesses testify that water was running down
the walls due to the humidity.107 And when one opened a window, dense clouds of mist came
streaming in.108
In the evening on the day they moved in, the Servant of God gathered the entire family
around the smoking chimney in the dining room for prayer, and asked the Reverend Father
Zsámboki to bless the house “so that here too peace and happiness might move in!”109
Since this too was part of God’s plan, the Servant of God humbly accepted it
strengthened by his faith, the presence of his children and his beloved wife – who now was
pregnant with his youngest child – and also by the joy to have a shrine dedicated to Mary
close-by, Nossa Senhora do Monte, where he would soon be laid to rest.
As always, he spent these days with his family lovingly and with earnestness,
dedicating much of his time to the training and education of his children, in particular the two
oldest ones. He now enjoyed having plenty of time to simply be a father.
As had been the case when the children had been very young, he now again instructed
them in the catechism, salvation history, the life of the Lord, etc; he did whatever he could to
direct their souls and spirits to God.110 He also had the beautiful custom of taking even the
very little ones to the chapel to present them to the Lord.111 He folded their hands and taught
them how to pray. He also blessed them from the very first day of their lives with holy water
and did so every evening at the little ones’ bedsides, having first prayed with them to their
guardian angels.112
The family neither had a cook, nor any other servant [at the beginning of their exile] –
and they had no money, so that the bishop of Madeira decided to settle some of their accounts.
The Servant of God, however, thanked him for his gesture but kindly refused the offer.113
Monsignor Antonio Homen de Gouveia remembers this time period: “In daily
interaction with His Majesty I admired his extraordinary, active faith. Whatever he did, he
submitted it to the Will of God; with humility he accepted all hardships and adversity without
even once uttering a bitter word against his enemies. Indeed, he even tried to exonerate them
by seeing them as the instruments of Divine Providence. He spent long hours at night in front
of the Sanctum Sanctorum, in his private chapel. And he never went on any important
business, no matter how pressing, without first visiting the Blessed Sacrament. … He attended
Holy Mass with astounding devotion; he received Holy Communion daily and edified the
other participants with his extraordinary dedication and faith, which influenced even the
smallest details in his life. … At home, he was unusually kind to everyone, his wife, the
princes and the servants. One never heard him raise his voice in a way that would have
signalled excitement or impatience. It was with great joy, for instance, that on one occasion
he received the news that his son’s operation in Switzerland had been successful.
Immediately he rushed to see me, walking a kilometer through torrential rain, and said: ‘One
heavy burden less for me to bear! O how grateful I am to God!”114
107 Summ. test., pp. 106-107, ad 35, Alfred Kiesewetter.
108 Summ. test., Archduchess Elisabeth Charlotte.
109 Summ. docc., pp. 84-85, Duchess Vittoria Mensdorff Pouilly, “Storia della Malattia.”
110 Summ. test., p. 585, Empress Zita.
111 Summ. test., p. 586, Empress Zita.
112 Summ. test., p. 587, Empress Zita; p. 807, ad 43, Father Pál Zsámboki.
113 Summ. test., p. 806, Father Pál Zsámboki.
114 Summ. test., pp. 897-898, § 1115, Monsignor Antonio Homen de Gouveira, Funchal Cathedral Canon.
The Bishop of Funchal agreed that “the Servant of God’s stay in Madeira equalled the
grace of a sermon, simply by virtue of the example that he gave – especially to the higher
strata of society.”115
However, his entire conduct clearly showed that something had profoundly changed in
him: his personal relationship with God had become so strong that it was almost tangible; he
became completely enrapt in prayer during Mass. During these moments the outside world
ceased to exist for him to the point that it became impossible to disturb him, not even by
touching him, indeed, not even by forcefully pushing him as his wife Zita experienced on
more than one occasion,116 and likewise the inhabitants of the island, who were enormously
edified by his conduct.
One day, his gaze remained fixed upwards for a long moment towards the shrine of
Nossa Senhora do Monte, and then he said to his wife, “I do not want to die in this place,”
but was quick to add, “The dear Lord will do as He pleases.” 117
He had clearly grasped that God asked of him one last and total sacrifice for the
salvation of his peoples: the sacrifice of his life.
He was convinced “that a father’s prayer pierces through the clouds. Some of my
children118 have renounced the faith, others risk suffering the same fate. So I continually have
to do battle before God in order to lead the former back and to keep the latter safe.”119
He now had received the strength to give up anything for the love of God, even his
family. He told his increasingly concerned wife, “God has given me the grace so that there
now remains nothing on this earth that I would not be willing to sacrifice out of my love for
Him and for the benefit of the Holy Church.” And in answer to the question whether he was
speaking of the church at home, he said, “I can no longer distinguish between Church and
home.”120
The last public function the Emperor attended, together with his two oldest sons, was
the dedication of the clock on the cathedral’s tower; where he officiated as sponsor of the
event,121 and was given an enthusiastic welcome by Funchal’s population whose hearts he had
completely won during his short stay on the island.
On the 9th of March his ascent up Golgotha began, and it was completed on the 1st of
April when Karl, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, gave back his pure soul to his
Father in the certainty “to there receive from Him the reward of eternal life, where he will
enjoy the beatific vision of God and finally be able to rest in his Lord’s heart, in the very heart
that had always been his refuge, his security and his rock-solid hope.”122
What at first seemed to be a common and harmless flu soon turned into a fatal
pneumonia. During the 22 days of his fatal illness, however, “he never showed even the
faintest trace of impatience, he never complained – despite the great difficulty he had
breathing, despite the painful cough, the burning thirst and the paralyzing weakness; despite
the many painful and exhausting treatments, and despite two aching abscesses.”123
Throughout the entire time of his sickness the Servant of God prayed without ceasing.
And when he could no longer speak, he continued to pray silently. His only concern was not
to be too much of a burden on his wife and the people who were taking care of him. This
attitude had, incidentally, been characteristic of him all his life, even when he had been
reigning.
When he realized that his death was near, he wanted to discuss the future education of
his children with his wife Zita, with special attention given to their religious instruction –
especially of the firstborn. Zita was given very specific directives with regards to a male
tutor: “Because of the national rivalries between the various monarchical factions the
appointment was liable to create problems. The Servant of God gave specific instructions to
chose a foreign tutor, one who would guarantee a strict Catholic education and be able to
ignite youthful ardor for Catholic ideals – even if these ideals created a political
disadvantage.”124
As soon as the island’s population heard about the sickness of “the ‘good King Karl,’
they began to pray. Even the annual procession of Christ, the Redeemer, was given the
character of a procession of petition for his speedy recovery. The gunshots that were
customarily fired on this occasion were omitted so as not to disturb the sick man’s rest.”125
His greatest desire in those days was to participate in Holy Mass and to receive Holy
Communion; but his erroneous belief that the medication he was given represented a violation
of the eucharistic fast forced him to “sacrifice his heart’s most intimate desire,”126 until the
Reverend Father Zsámboki, his last chaplain, was finally able to gradually and convincingly
persuade him that a man in such poor health was not required to keep the eucharistic fast.127
From that moment on he was overjoyed to be able to receive Communion daily – including
the day of his death.
The worsening of his condition, the continual successive collapses, and the futility of
the painful treatments signalled the approach of his final hour. Thus, his grandmother, the
Archduchess Maria Theresia, recommended he receive Extreme Unction. And “he wanted to
make confession once more, even though he regularly did so every eight days, in order to
forgive all those who had worked against him, and to offer up his prayers and sufferings on
behalf of his persecutors.”128
He wanted his first-born son Otto to also be present at the last rites, for “him to have a
memory and an example for his own life, so that he too might know what, as a truly Catholic
Emperor, he ought to do in a similar situation.”129 He also asked that the deathbed prayers of
the ritual be read in such a way that he could consciously pray along. “The sick man received
Extreme Unction with great devotion; he stretched out his hands towards the oil and prayed
along with the priest’s prayers. It was as though for him, the exterior world had vanished.
After Extreme Unction I gave him the blessing of the Holy Father, whose faithful son he had
always been,” remembers Father Zsámboki.130
He suffered much the last night of his life on earth but he offered up his suffering to
Christ. “I have to suffer so much for my peoples to be reunited once more.” “That night he
was suffering from great thirst, but we always had to guess what it was he wanted. Often he
would remain lying in an uncomfortable position rather than complain or ask a favor. And
for every service rendered he gave thanks with the most moving sincerity.”131 To the physical
pain was added the anguish of the soul: concerns about the future of his wife and children, his
country, and of being far from his faithful ones. But in his suffering he found solace in the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. “Otherwise,” he said, “it would be unbearable.”132
124 Summ. test., p. 586, Empress Zita.
125 Summ. docc., p. 91, Anna Hubalek Pohl.
126 Summ. docc., p. 123, Duke Maximilian von Hohenberg.
127 Summ. test., p. 817, Father Pál Zsámboki.
128 Summ. docc., pp. 93-94, Anna Hubalek Pohl.
129 Summ. docc., pp. 93-94, Anna Hubalek Pohl.
130 Summ. docc., p. 125, Duke Maximilian von Hohenberg.
131 Summ. docc., p. 126, Duke Maximilian von Hohenberg.
132 Summ. docc., p. 127, Anna Tachezy.
On the day of his death, after he had received Holy Communion, he remained entirely
composed and murmured short prayers, most frequently: “Jesus for You I live, Jesus for You I
die.” Father Zsámboki noticed how the dying monarch “longingly gazed at the Ciborium,”
which he presented to him, holding the Sanctum Sanctorum in front of the dying man’s
eyes.133 A little while later he asked for viaticum and, having received it, “the Emperor said
with great devotion, ‘In the arms of the Savior … You and I and our dear children…’ He then
uttered an act of perfect contrition and entrusted, one after the other, all his children to the
Lord, praying that He might keep their bodies and souls, and, ‘let them die rather than
commit a grievous sin! So be it – Amen.’”134
Then his state declined rapidly. The doctors were pumping oxygen directly into his
lungs, but to no avail. “Then one could still hear in a very soft voice, ‘Jesus, my Jesus … Yes,
my Jesus, as you wish … Jesus!’ These sentences sounded like parts of a conversation he was
having with his Savior. The world had ceased to exist for him. … His lips were stammering
prayers; his gaze became distant as though he was already fixing his eyes on another world.
Despite all his suffering, his facial expression was serene and tranquil, the like of which no
one had ever seen on His Majesty’s face before, not even in the best of times. …Two, three
more breaths, a small sigh … and a noble heart had stopped to beat. …
While I was deeply moved by His Majesty’s death,” says Father Zsámboki, “I was
nevertheless more peaceful about the fate of the deceased, as never in any other case
before.”135
His renunciation of things worldly had been so radical, and his wardrobe so minimal,
that a servant had to be asked to return a jacket the King had given him a few years previously
so that the he could be dressed in it for his funeral.136
As the news of the Emperor’s death spread, people thronged to the house and passed
for hours by his bier in the private chapel, paying homage, laying down rosaries and other
objects of devotion.137 This simple and warm-hearted man, full of genuine concern for his
fellow man, capable of truly amiable relationships with rich and poor alike, had won the
hearts of the islanders in the short period of five months – totally without the pomp of the
sceptre and the crown. They did not mourn a last Emperor but the ‘good Karl,’ who amidst
the misery of his exile had made a deep impression on all of them by his profoundly humane
and Christian conduct. It was for this man, who was in love with Jesus Christ, that the
inhabitants of Funchal showed respect and love.
Some 30,000 people participated in his funeral, and all shops were closed. The Bishop
and the canons of Funchal as well as the other priests participating in the funeral spoke of him
as they would a saint. His mortal body was laid to rest in the beautiful church of Nossa
Senhora do Monte.138
His death marked the end of Emperor and King Karl of Habsburg’s life on earth, and
his life of faith. But another life, a much more important one, had only just began: life in the
arms of his Redeemer, the Giver of that peace he had so ardently desired all his life; it is that
Lord Jesus, Who will exalt His humble servant from out of the dust of exile to the honor of
the altar.
133 Summ. docc., p. 127, Anna Tachezy.
134 Summ. docc., p. 128, Anna Tachezy.
135 Summ. docc., p. 129, Anna Tachezy.
136 Summ. test., pp. 809-810, Father Pál Zsámboki.
137 Summ. test., p. 823, Father Pál Zsámboki.
138 Summ. test., p. 823-824, Father Pál Zsámboki.