Otto, a mortal, sinful man

You may not have heard, but on the Fourth of July, as we were celebrating our independence from monarchy, the last heir of one of the great monarchies of Europe passed away. Otto von Habsburg, the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary died July 4th at the ripe old age of 98. His life was marked with all of the turbulence of the Twentieth Century's major events, from the deposition of his family from the Austrian throne to the Second World War to the birth of the European Union. A tireless campaigner for recognition of the God-given dignity of each human being, Otto von Habsburg continued his family's legacy of using the monarchy as a way to work on behalf of his people. You can read a full obituary of this great man here. 

One of the most moving parts of the entire gamut of funeral events was the traditional knocking at the door of the Kapuzinerkirche in Vienna where the Imperial Crypt is located. The text of the dialog is reprinted below.

The herold taps three time on the gate with his rod. 

Capuchin friar: "Who begs entrance?"

Herold: "Otto of Austria, once Crown Prince of Autria-Hungary, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria and Illyria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow, Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and Bucovina; Grand Prince of Transylvania, Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Upper and Lower Silesia, Modena, Piacenza and Guastalla, of Auschwitz, Zator, Teschen, Friuli, Ragusa and Zara; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, Kyburg, Görz and Gradisca; Prince of Trent and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and in Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz and Sonnenberg, etc.; Lord of Triest, Cattaro and in the Windic march; Grand Voivode of the Voivodeship of Serbia; etc. etc."

Capuchin friar: "We know him not."

The herold knocks again.

Capuchin friar: "Who begs entrance?"

Herold: "Dr. Otto von Habsburg, President and Honorary President of the Paneuropean Union, Member and Father of the House of the European Parliament, honorary doctor of numerous universities and honorary citizen of many municiplaities in central Europe, member of venerable Academies and Institutes, bearer of high and highest state and Church decorations, orders and honours, which were granted to him in recognition of his decade-long struggle for the freedom of peoples, for what is right and just."

Capuchin friar: "We know him not."

The herold knocks for the third time.

Capuchin friar: "Who begs entrance?"

Herold: "Otto, a mortal, sinful man."

This small ceremony epitomizes the virtues of Christian monarchy. The monarch's soul, in the end, must be commended to God in the same way as that of the poorest peasants of the empire - my great-great grandfather's for instance. Otto von Habsburg, despite his positions of authority and honor, is at his core a mortal and sinful man, as are we all. Video of the ceremony, the last ever (since Otto was the last born into the monarchy) is shown below.