The Blessed Karol of Southern Italy
The King who preceded Blessed Karol of Austria...
Yesterday, December 27th, 2023 marked the 129 year anniversary of the death of Servant of God Francesco II. Our friend, Fr. William Rock, FSSP has put together this beautiful piece detailing his life and all of the information necessary to participate in his cause for canonization.
Many readers of the Missive are no doubt aware of the devotion found in traditional circles to Blessed Karol of Austria and his wife, Servant of God Zita. This devotion is founded primarily on the recognition of their virtues, but there is the strong influence of what they represent. As the last Catholic Emperor and Empress, their lives and deaths represent a delineation between a previous order of the world and the present one. As the last monarchs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, their unjust and forced dethronement is seen as the death of Christendom, the spirit of which many traditional Catholics prefer over the spirit which pervades the world today. For the spirit of Christendom built civilizations, guided nations, and allowed the Catholic Faith to penetrate and infuse every aspect of the faithfuls’ lives.
There is little doubt that Blessed Karol and his devotees would find a kindred spirit in Servant of God Francesco II1 of the House of Bourbon, the last King of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. He ruled over a kingdom which encompassed the southern part of the Italian peninsula and the island of Sicily. This territory was first organized as a kingdom in A.D. 1130 with the crowning of the first King of Sicily, the Norman Roger II.1
Francis II had a varied and complex personality. In the few months of his reign, he was unable to put an end to a crisis which had begun far away, of which he had been bequeathed the difficult inheritance. But still, throughout the course of his life, he knew how to give ample proof of total closeness and identification with the peoples he governed. Not only because he prevented the destruction of Naples.
Giving precise orders to the garrisons present in the city to not shoot upon the arrival of Garibaldi’s troops, but above all, during the battle of Volturno and the following siege of Gaeta, he did so in a way that none of the prisoners, Garibaldi’s men first, and then the Piedmontese, would be treated villainously, as was then the practice among the troops fighting him.
Deeply Catholic, Francis II made of Christian doctrine a doctrine of life, always relieving the sufferings of his people, even following the fall of his Kingdom. And, although restricted economically, his aid was never lacking to those who asked him for it. He always had the dignity of a King.
And throughout his life, made up of mourning and suffering, the least of which was the loss of his only and most beloved daughter, Maria Christina, he faced all of these trials with Christian patience. So much so, to cause Pius IX to say that Francis II resembled a little “Job.”
Prayer to Servant of God Francesco II
One and Triune God, Who casts Your glance on us from Your throne of mercy, and called Francis II of Bourbon to follow You, choosing him on earth to be king, modeling his life on the very Kingship of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, pouring into his heart sentiments of love and patience, humility and meekness, peace and pardon, and clothing him with the virtues of faith, hope and charity, hear our petition, and help us to walk in his footsteps and to live his virtues. Glorify him, we pray You, on earth as we believe him to be already glorified in Heaven, and grant that, through his prayers, we may receive the graces we need. Amen.
In conformity with the decrees of Pope Urban VIII, in no way is this article intended to anticipate the ecclesiastical authority; the above prayers are not intended for public use.
https://fssp.com/the-blessed-karol-of-southern-italy/