The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-10-12
ROYALTY AND THE EUCHAR
ISTIC CONGRESS.


charistic Congress held in Madrid
was the first to be honored with
I. the presence Of the Sovereign of
the country in which it was cele-
brated The King and Queen Of
Spain took a prominent part in
the congress and thereby gave it
note of distinction which
previous congresses had not en-
joyed.
This years Congress in Vienna
was similarly honored. The ven
cradle Emperor Of Austria, Fran
els Joseph, took it under his
special patronage and rode in
the state coach Immediately in
front of the Papal Legate, His
Eminence Cardinal Van Rossum,
who bore the Blessed Sacrament
in the magnificent procession
with which the celebration was
brought to close. The presence
Of the Emperor and members of
the Royal Family and Of the
prominent officials of the Empire
gave to the Eucharistic Congress
at Vienna a dignity and eclat
which was in keeping with the
solemn religious pomp with which
the event was commemorated. A
number Of Cardinals, scores OF
Bishops, and thousands Of clergy
men participated in the celebra-
ton and large delegations Of de.
vout Catholics from all the
Provinces of the Empire were
present to give tangible evidence
of the deep faith Of the people in
the august Sacrament Of the
Altar.
1t was a magnificent manifesto
ton Of faith on the part of the
people Of Austro-Hungary who
have always been so loyal to the
Church and whose future as ar
Empire so largely depends upon
the preservation and strengthen
ing of the bonds that unite
Church and state.
It may be- said, however, thai
the leader in the work of organic
ing the Congress and the most
enthusiastic in his efforts to make
it a success was the Archduke
Francis Ferdinand, the heir ap
parent to the Imperial throne. Ir
fact, he was the soul Of the whole
movement. The Archduke is {
most devout Catholic, earnest
fearless and sincere in the profes
sion of his faith. The future per
manence and progress Of the
Austrian Empire depend upon
him. He is beloved by the com
mon people and commands the
unlimited confidence Of al
who have at heart the welfare Of
the nation. His power and in
fuence are increasing every day
and his accession to the throne il
looked forward to with JOY by his
future subjects.
Though all respect the ageG
Emperor, Francis Joseph, there il
no doubt that, occasionally a.
least, he lacked the frmness Of
character necessary for a great
ruler. But the heir apparent
seems to be endowed with all thu
qualities of mind and heart thai
are so necessary at this important
epoch in the history Of the En-
pire. The people look to him t.
hold the Empire intact and keeI
it on the high plain of materia
prosperity on which it nov
stands. His accession to tn,
throne will be guarantee that M
effort will be spared by the Sover
eign to promote the interests O.
the Catholic Church within thu
Empire, and conserve the heritage
of Catholicity in which the ma
ton glories. Austro- Hungary /!
one Of the greatest of the Catho
lie nations Of the world and thu
people realize that it's future ma
terial and religious prosperity de
pend upon the closest consolida
ton of its constituent parts int
a homogeneous whole that will re
sist the disintegrating action O
the irreligious element which ha'
proved 50 destructive in othe1
countries Of Europe. With Francis
/ Ferdinand at the helm the peac,
and progress Of the Empire is al
most guaranteed. The higf
esteem In which he is held by al
classes Of the people could not b
bestowed upon more worthy