
the Peace Maker
Uniquely among the responsible leaders on all sides of the First World War, Karl had frontline experience. After assuming power he strove to alleviate the horrors of war he saw, and took concrete steps to bring about peace. As emperor he understood peace to be his absolute, kingly duty. In his ascension manifesto, therefore, he named peace as his central goal. Only Karl took up the peace proposal of Pope Benedict XV, incorporating its principles in a set of proposed peace accords (which historians have evaluated as thoroughly realistic and having had great potential).
Social Aid – Informed heavily by Catholic social teaching, he established the world’s first-of-its-kind Ministry of Social Welfare to care for war victims, widows, and orphans.
Charitable Action: He personally distributed his private wealth as alms, used royal carriages and palace resources to deliver coal and food (such as organizing soup kitchens) to the poor in Vienna, and fought against wartime usury.
Cause for Canonization . WEB













































