The Habsburgs on marriage and family
By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Jan 17, 2025
You have probably heard of the Habsburg Empire (or Holy Roman Empire), which played an important role in European affairs between the thirteenth and the early twentieth century, when World War I brought it to an end. The last of these emperors was Blessed Charles (or Karl) of Austria, who was dethroned by the newly formed Republic of German-Austria and banished in 1919. He attempted a return to power in 1921 but was exiled a second time to the Portuguese island of Madeira. There on April 1, 1922, he became ill and died of respiratory failure.
Pope St. John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) was named for this last of the emperors, who had regarded it as his vocation to exercise his office as a holy service to his people. In fact, the devout Catholicism of the Habsburg line was one of its hallmarks through the centuries. After a long study of the deposed emperor’s life and virtues, John Paul II beatified Charles on October 3, 2004. The date of his marriage in 1911 to Princess Zita was designated as his feast day—October 21st.
A recent coincidence—which is merely a specific sort of Providence—brought all this to my attention. The first half of the coincidence was this year’s Christmas gift of Charles Coulombe’s biography of Blessed Charles (received from Thomas Mirus), about which I hope to have more to say after my wife finishes reading it and I get my chance. The second half was the publication by Sophia Institute Press of a new book on marriage and family by Eduard Habsburg (Archduke of Austria) who, in addition to being a writer, is Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See.
It is this second book, Building a Wholesome Family in a Broken World, which occupies my attention today. Subtitled “Habsburg Lessons from the Centuries”, it is a well-organized, well-written, and interesting account of what it takes to succeed as a spouse and parent in terms of spiritual development, courtship, engagement, marriage, and forming a family for the kinds of success that matter most. Final chapters cover the role of grandparents and dealing with a death in the family.
Not for adolescents
I remember years ago recommending Fr. Robert Fox’s excellent guide Charity, morality, sex and young people, which was clearly directed at teenagers. By contrast, Eduard Habsburg’s book is directed at adult readers, from the age at which they are old enough to begin thinking seriously about marriage, and on into family life itself. His goal is to get spouses and potential spouses on the right track for Catholic family success up to and including the time of death.
There is no question that this is a real challenge today if only because doing things the right way—the successful way—is almost totally counter-cultural. We all need to think about the possibilities and the challenges, and to be prepared to form ourselves and our children. And we all need to give a good example as well as being prepared to give good advice to others.
In the first three chapters, beginning with the need for chastity, the nature of courtship, and how to figure out who would make a good spouse, Eduard Habsburg carefully explores what it ought to mean to get engaged, and especially what it ought to mean to get married. The remaining three chapters deal with being married and building a family, the role of grandparents, and the crisis of death in the family.
From the first chapter (“A Brief History of the Habsburg Family”) right on through to the end, the author shares anecdotes about the impressive family experience characterized by the Habsburg line, which boasts a long history of (mostly) doing things right and enjoying the happiness which grows out of a family job well done. The book closes with an eleven-page guide called “A Habsburg Guide to Happiness”, which lists the main points of the book in a series of simple do’s and don’ts.*
Rights and privileges appertaining thereunto
One of the most important points Eduard Habsburg makes in this book is that to have a good marriage and a successful family life, you have to start by getting yourself right with God and the Church, including a commitment to God’s and the Church’s moral laws. You can’t build a successful family life on pre-marital promiscuity or a determination to honor the complete and unrestricted liberty of your spouse and children.
The first three items in “A Habsburg Guide to Happiness” are:
- Be faithful to your spouse before marriage.
- Prepare for marriage years before you start dating.
- Pray for your spouse, even before you meet him or her.
Four of the items in the second-last part of the guide (on educating your children) are:
- Think carefully about your children’s education,
- Keep their moral education at the forefront.
- Children will do what they see you do, including with respect to faith.
- Say regular prayers, in the morning and in the evening.
The very last item on the entire list is this: “The duty of family does not end with death. Pray for their souls.” In all there are a hundred simple tips which, having been discussed throughout the text, are listed in the closing “Guide”. Slightly more than ten percent of them emphasize the need to pray.
If you’ve been married for some time, you already know that something is missing if you do not have a deeply shared inner life—that is, a shared spiritual life. If you aren’t yet married, you will do yourself a favor by putting prayer at the center of your discernment process. Marriage is a very great sacrament, the key to holiness for those who are not only called to it but prepared to take it seriously.
But with love and marriage go openness to life—both natural and supernatural life. Covering everything from personal formation to the use of technology in the home, Building a Wholesome Family in a Broken World can not only prepare you properly but also play a major role in getting your marriage and your family back on track.
Eduard Habsburg, Archduke of Austria, Building a Wholesome Family in a Broken World: Sophia Institute Press 2024. 142pp. Paper $18.95; Ebook: $9.95.
* For the “apostrophication” of do’s and don’ts, which only rarely follows the rules of English punctuation, see “Dos and Don’ts” or “Do’s and Don’ts”?. In a good Catholic marriage you can disagree on the punctuation, but you really do need to be committed to the rules.
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