Zita von Bourbon-Parma

Zita of Bourbon-Parma was born on May 9, 1892, in Camaiore, Italy, and died on March 14, 1989, in Zizers, Switzerland. Through her marriage to Archduke Charles of Austria, she became Empress of Austria and Apostolic Queen of Hungary in 1916. She was the last person to bear these titles. The Catholic Church venerates her as a Servant of God; her cause for beatification was opened in 2009 and remains ongoing. Zita was the seventeenth child of the former Duke Robert I of Parma and his second wife, the Portuguese Infanta Maria Antonia. Her father had lost the throne of Parma in 1859 as a result of Italian unification. The family lived chiefly at Schwarzau Castle in Lower Austria and at Villa Pianore near Lucca. Zita grew up in an exceptionally international environment. She and her siblings learned Italian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and English. At the same time, the family regarded itself as a French-influenced princely house that had once ruled in Italy. The children were raised as Catholics and became involved in helping those in need. At Schwarzau, surplus fabric was turned into clothing, while Zita and her sister Françoise personally distributed food, clothing, and medicine to the poor at Pianore. Three of her sisters later entered the Benedictine convent of Sainte-Cécile de Solesmes; for a time, Zita also considered pursuing a religious life. After a prolonged period of ill health, she spent two years recuperating at various European health resorts. Her education took her first to the Sisters of the Visitation in Zangberg and later to a Benedictine convent on the Isle of Wight. Zita and the roughly same-aged Archduke Charles had known each other since childhood, but they did not become closely reacquainted until 1909. Charles was then second in line to the Austrian imperial throne. Their relationship was also encouraged by family connections: Zita’s aunt Marie Therese of Braganza was Charles’s grandmother. Zita’s feelings developed gradually, while Charles made up his mind quickly after rumors arose that Zita might become engaged. He asked for her hand at Villa Pianore. Their religious engagement took place on June 13, 1911, and they married at Schwarzau Castle on October 21. Pope Pius X had previously given them his blessing. Their first child, Archduke Otto, was born on November 20, 1912. The couple eventually had eight children. The young family’s life changed with the assassination of heir to the throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914. Charles thereby became the immediate heir. During the First World War, he assumed military responsibilities, while Zita carried three pregnancies to term, helped ensure the continuity of the dynasty, and undertook charitable work. She visited the wounded and hospitals, including those near the Romanian front. The war was especially painful for her because her brothers fought on different sides: some served in the Austrian army, while others joined the Belgian army. In addition, her native Italy entered the war against Austria in 1915, prompting accusations against the allegedly “Italian” archduchess. After Emperor Franz Joseph’s death on November 21, 1916, Charles ascended the Austrian throne. Zita became empress beside him, and on December 30, 1916, they were crowned King and Queen of Hungary in Budapest. Because Charles was often away, they remained in constant contact by telephone. Zita occasionally took part discreetly in political discussions and was particularly interested in social issues, while military affairs remained Charles’s responsibility. She accompanied him on journeys and continued her relief work for the victims of the war. An important but unsuccessful peace initiative was conducted through her brother Sixtus, who served in the Belgian army. Charles attempted to use him to establish contacts with France and negotiate a separate peace. The talks failed, chiefly because of Germany’s opposition and the complicated territorial demands of the belligerent powers. When a secret letter from Charles was published in 1918, the imperial family came under intense domestic and German pressure. Zita was again attacked as an unreliable foreigner. In the autumn of 1918, the Habsburg monarchy disintegrated. Several peoples declared their independence, and Austria and Hungary effectively separated from the old state structure. Charles did not renounce his rights as ruler, but declared that he was withdrawing from the government. Zita firmly rejected the idea of an abdication. On March 23, 1919, the family left Austria with British assistance and initially settled in Switzerland. After Charles made two unsuccessful attempts in 1921 to regain power in Hungary, he and Zita were taken to Madeira. Charles died there of pneumonia on April 1, 1922. Zita was only 28 years old, was expecting their eighth child, and decided to mourn her husband for the rest of her life and never remarry. She and her children first moved to Spain, where King Alfonso XIII supported them, and lived for several years in Lekeitio in the Basque Country. In 1929, the family moved to Belgium. After the German invasion of Belgium in 1940, Zita and her children fled through France, Spain, and Portugal to the United States. The family eventually settled in French-speaking Quebec. Their financial resources were severely limited, but several of Zita’s sons became involved in the war effort or political work. After 1945, Zita traveled throughout the United States and Canada raising funds for war-ravaged Austria and Hungary. In 1952, she returned permanently to Europe to care for her mother in Luxembourg. She later settled in Zizers, Switzerland, where she could live near a chapel and have enough space for her large family. Her close connection with Solesmes and the Benedictine order continued; in 1926, she had become an oblate of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes. She was not permitted to return to Austria until 1982. Carrying a diplomatic passport issued by King Juan Carlos of Spain, she returned after six decades and received an enthusiastic welcome in Vienna. Zita died at the age of 96 on March 14, 1989. Her funeral took place in Vienna on April 1, exactly 67 years after her husband’s death. She was buried in the Capuchin Crypt, while her heart remained, at her request, at Muri Abbey, where Charles’s heart was also kept. Numerous members of the Habsburg-Lorraine and Bourbon-Parma families, along with thousands of mourners, attended the funeral ceremonies. Throughout her long life, Zita preserved the memory of her husband, raised her children in the traditions of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and remained a committed Catholic until the end.