Charles of Habsburg (Karl Franz Joseph Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Marie von Habsburg-Lothringen) (17 August 1887 – 1 April 1922) was (among other titles) the last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
He was the last Emperor of Austria, the last King of Hungary, and the last monarch of the Habsburg dynasty.
He reigned as Charles I as Emperor of Austria and Charles IV as King of Hungary from 1916 until 1918, when he "renounced participation" in state affairs, but did not abdicate.
He spent the remaining years of his life attempting to restore the monarchy until his death in 1922 in Funchal, Madeira.
Following his beatification, he has become commonly known as Blessed Charles.
Death
Charles died of severe pneumonia (brought on after Charles, an already sickly man, walked into town on a freezing winter's day) on the Portuguese island of Madeira in 1922. His remains except for his heart are still kept on the island, in the Church of Our Lady of the Monte, in spite of several attempts to move them to the Habsburg Crypt in Vienna. His heart, and that of Empress Zita, repose in the Loreto Chapel of Muri Abbey. During his stay on the island, his personal chaplain was the priest, Father Jorge de Faria e Castro.
Beatification
Charles' brief rule is considered by the Roman Catholic Church to have expressed Catholic social teaching, and he created a social legal framework which survives in part to this day. After his failed attempts to regain the Hungarian Crown, he and his Queen were first imprisoned and then exiled to Madeira, together with their children, where they lived in impoverished conditions until his death.
Charles has been solemnly declared "Blessed" in the ceremony of beatification by the Roman Catholic Church. The Church has praised Charles for putting his Christian faith first in making political decisions, and for his perceived role as a peacemaker during the war, especially after 1917. During the Mass of Beatification on 3 October 2004, Pope John Paul II stated:
The decisive task of Christians consists in seeking, recognizing and following God's will in all things. The Christian statesman, Charles of Austria , confronted this challenge every day. To his eyes, war appeared as "something appalling". Amid the tumult of the First World War, he strove to promote the peace initiative of my Predecessor, Benedict XV.
From the beginning, the Emperor Charles conceived of his office as a holy service to his people. His chief concern was to follow the Christian vocation to holiness also in his political actions. For this reason, his thoughts turned to social assistance. May he be an example for all of us, especially for those who have political responsibilities in Europe today!
Recent milestones
-On 14 April 2003, the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the presence of Pope John Paul II, promulgated Charles of Austria's "heroic virtues."
-On 21 December 2003, the Congregation certified, on the basis of three expert medical opinions, that a miracle in 1960 occurred through the intercession of Charles. The miracle attributed to Charles was the scientifically-inexplicable healing of a Brazilian nun with debilitating varicose veins; she was able to get out of bed after she prayed for his beatification.
-On 3 October 2004, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II. The Pope also declared 21 October, the date of Charles' marriage in 1911 to Princess Zita, as Charles' feast day. The beatification has caused controversy because of the mistaken belief that Charles authorized the Austro-Hungarian Army's use of poison gas during World War I, when in fact he was the first, and only, world leader during the war who banned its use.
-On January 31, 2008, an ecclesiastic tribunal, after a 16-month investigation, formally recognized a second miracle attributed to Charles I (required for his Canonization as a Saint in the Catholic Church); in an uncommon twist, the Florida woman claiming the miracle cure is not Catholic, but Baptist.
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