| |
| | Austrian Emperor a Step Closer to Beatification (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-08) |
 | | Born on Aug. 17, 1887, in Persenbeug, Austria, Charles was the eldest son of Archduke Otto and grandson of Emperor Franz Joseph I. When his uncle, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, and Franz Joseph died, Charles was proclaimed emperor of Austria and king of Hungary in 1916, while World War I was in progress. |
 | | Five years earlier, Charles had married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, who on their wedding day said: "Now we must take each other to heaven." They had eight children. |
 | | During the ceremony of publication of the decree of heroic virtues, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes, described Charles as a "man of solid faith, who always sought the good of his people, and in his governance was inspired by the social doctrine of the Church." |
| www.catholicism.org /News/karl1beati.htm (287 words) |
|