ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER
Saints celebrated on the 21st of October
BLESSED CHARLES OF AUSTRIA, EMPEROR
Charles was born in Persenbeug Castle on August 17, 1887 in Melk, Lower Austria to Archduke Otto and Princess Maria Josephine of Saxony. He received a solid Catholic education, and had a strong devotion to the Eucharist.
He married Princess Zita of Bourbon and Parma, and together they had eight children.
The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand in 1914 marked the beginning of the First World War. Upon the death of his great-uncle, Emperor Francis Joseph, Charles became emperor and king of Hungary. He saw his office as a mandate from God and as a way to implement Christian charity and social reform.
He strove to end the war and was the only leader to support Pope Benedict XV's efforts for peace. Afterwards was exiled to Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, where he lived in prayerful poverty until he died on April 1, 1922 from pneumonia. He was beatified in 2004.
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Blessed Charles may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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