Blessed Charles of Austria

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God." (Matt 5:9)

Blessed Charles of Austria is the latest from author Charles A. Coulombe and is the study of the life, heritage, and death of His Imperial and Royal Highness, Karl von Habsburg, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, and King of Croatia, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The penmanship of Mr. Coulombe has this wonderous tale and adventure travel not only time but space to lay a solid foundation for the heroics, piety, trials, tribulations, and outcome of this man and his family. Separated into three parts that can be roughly explained as the Set-Up, the Life and Times, and the Finale, each delving much more deeply into the essentials necessary to begin to surmount the colossal task and duty facing the "Peace Emperor" and his family. Each chapter feels as though one were with Karl and Zita, whether as a young family in Hungary on military duty, or the front lines administering the soldiers (wounded especially) or their subjects, or in Madeira on his way to the Eternal Reward. With the occasional insert of the author himself to connect random factoids or connect with our time, and including pictures of the Emperor, a highly recommended work and more-over the best the author has produced in his career. It only stands that someone should be as dedicated to the life of Emperor Karl as Karl was dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 5 stars and very much a great read into the life of this Blessed (God willing a future Saint).

A Christlike Example for Men of Today

Mr. Coloumbe has done excellently well in detailing the holiness and joyful struggle against evil that Blessed Karl embodied with his whole life. While the text may initially be difficult to retain in memory whilst absorbing the encyclopedic historical context conveyed in the initial chapters, this context is vital for understanding who the People's Emperor was, and the standards to which he held himself. His witness as a king betrayed by his own, suffering in agony cut off from those he had never done wrong by, and betrayed by those he had placed his trust in was an imitation of Christ immediately approachable for men of the current age, who can take his example as priest of his home and leader of men as something to incorporate into their own lives.

Wonderful book especially for youth. This is an incredibly wonderful book yet on a kind of terrible topic. By terrible I mean that the life of this great man and his family was beyond reproach as a Catholic and national figure. You can so clearly see why he was so clearly a saint in so many ways. Yet it’s terrible because of the times we live in are the absence of great men like this which are so desperately need right now. In my greatest dream of dreams, every single Catholic high school student has to read this book so that he or she might see how important it is to maintain one’s dignity of status in life, no matter the level of fortune nor misfortune which one is experiencing. Charles did a great job in writing this book. It is for me a heartbreak as someone so enamored with both the truth of the Catholic faith and the need for its dominance over temporal affairs. Blessed Karl is someone whose blessings I ask for when saying the rosary daily. I do feel that men will need to imitate him in order to be successful family fathers. As a military leader, he was not that great. There were times when he should have been much more aggressive, meaning violent, planed, and decisive in terms of reclaiming his throne. Nevertheless, the only thing that matters is the state of one’s soul at the moment of one’s death. And for this he was absolutely incredible as was his holy wife. So one really hopes that this book will be spread and sold in the millions, because our young people need to know that their ultimate fate rests with belief and action in the one true Catholic God and in the TRADITIONS of the Church, not with secular things as so many are today consumed with. Blessed Karl please pray for us! A masterful work!