On this day, 14th March 1989, HM Queen Zita of Habsburg-Lothringen of Bourbon-Parma passed away, she was the last legitimate Croatian queen and the wife of the blessed King Charles IV.
She was a great supporter of traditional and Christian values. During the Great War of 1914 - 1918, she supported many humanitarian organisations of which she was a patron, in particular she valued the role of women in helping orphans, war invalids and helping the socially vulnerable. After the death of her husband in captivity, she raised their children alone in almost poverty. Until the end of her life, she stood up for the freedom of her people from the communist yoke. She especially appreciated the courage and loyalty of the Croats, whom she wanted to free from the shackles of Socialist Yugoslavia. She died at the age of 96, and was buried in the Imperial crypt of the Capuchin monastery in Vienna. In the Catholic Church, she is praised as a Servant of God.
Biography
She was born on May 9, 1892 in the Bourbon-Parma family, her full name was Zita Maria delle Grazie Adelgonda Micaela Raffaela Gabriella Giuseppina Antonio Luisa Agnese. She was born in a large family, the 17th child out of 24 children of Robert I, Duke of Parma. She was raised in a strict Catholic spirit and tradition, attended private schools and a convent in Bavaria and the UK. She met her future husband during her time living in Austria, although they did not see each other for ten years following their responsibilities and education. During her stay in the Czechia (Bohemia) in 1909, she was reacquainted with Charles, who was then serving in the army. Their story was truly that of love, which was rare for that era because marriage considered a social and even state policy. They got engaged in 1911 and married in the same year on October 21st. After getting married on their first day together, they said to each other:
"Now, we must help each other to get to Heaven"
Her husband Archduke Chrales was not destined for the throne from the beginning of his life, the fate that followed after the death of Prince Rudolf, the unequal marriage of Prince Franz Ferdinand and his wife Duchess Sofia, and their murders in Sarajevo brought Chrales to the position of Crown Prince and Heir to the throne in 1914. After the death of the long-lived King Franz Joseph I in 1916, Charles became the new Austrian emperor, and the Hungarian, Croatian, Czech, etc. king, especially with the grand Croatian-Hungarian coronation in Budapest in December 1916, when he was crowned as the Croatian and Hungarian king, and Zita became our queen. His fate, as well as that of his wife, was tied to the hardships of wartime. They were extremely socially sensitive, they asked high society and the imperial and royal court for modesty and sacrifice in the days of poverty and suffering of their people. Here, in particular, Queen Zita proved to be very active in the humanitarian field. She supported and patronised many orphanages, homes for the poor, the disabled, and especially widows of war In Zagreb, she patronised a large exhibition in 1917, where she displayed the royal clothing from the coronation, which was donated to foundations to raise money and income for the wounded, orphans and widows. After the end of the war in 1918, she went into exile in Switzerland, accompanied her husband in two attempts to restore power in Hungary and in his desire to liberate Croatia from Yugoslavia.
After the final departure to the island of Madeira, she maintained the family home in difficult living conditions. Her husband, blessed king Charles IV. would die in severe agony on April 1, 1922. She was left alone with eight children whom she raised in a traditional Catholic and royal manner and education despite her difficult financial situation. She specially raised her first-born son Francis Otto (Otto von Hasbsburg) so that he would be raised as a true Catholic king. Her love for her peoples, care for her family and children, care for the poor continued until the last day of her life. She truly lived an exemplary Christian life. She died on March 14, 1989 at the age of 96, and was buried in the Imperial crypt of the Capuchin monastery in Vienna.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the death of Queen Zita, Gebetsliga Croatia asks all its members and followers to dedicate today's prayers for the purpose of the beatification of the servant of God, Queen Zita.
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