On this day, the thirtieth of December in the year of Our Lord 1916, one hundred years ago, a day which in this year is celebrated as the Feast of the Holy Family, Emperor Karl of Austria was crowned Apostolic King of Hungary. He was crowned with the crown which Holy Roman Emperor Otto III had brought to Saint Stephan of Hungary as a gift from Pope Sylvester II, a joint act of Pope and Emperor raising the Princedom of the Magyars to a true Country and Kingdom. This glimmer of hope in the midst of raging war was quickly obscured by the clouds of darkness and horror which descended upon the twentieth century. Yet it was not wholly lost, for descendants of that great King-Emperor are still alive, to await the day that the Good which decays shall be restored.

Continue reading →