Emperor Karl I (1887-1922), Empress Zita ("The Last Empress") (1892-1989) and Family

[MAfan]

I've found an interview (in Italian) about Emperor Charles I to his son Archduke Rudolph and his granddaughter Archduchess Catharina, the youngest daughter of Rudolph; the interview was taken some months ago, at the time of the 87th death anniversary of the Emperor and the 5th death anniversary of Pope John Paul II;
the Archduke talked about the strong link between the Emperor and the Pope; he remembered a private meeting with the Pope of him, his family and his mother Zita, in which the Pope talked with great enthusiasm of the Emperor, and told to the Imperial Family that he was named Karol after the Emperor, who was very admired by the late Pope's father; Archduke Rudolph told also that the Pope called Zita "my Empress", and every time he talked to her he bowed. Pope John Paul II was an admirer of the Emperor too, and he begun appreciating him since he was young, when his father talked to him about his Emperor.
Archduke Rudolph talked also about the beatification of the Emperor, that was an important step for "rehabilitate" the Emperor, often badly esteemed, and about the thought of Emperor Charles about his task of Emperor (a mission he was charged with by God, and that he could not renounce to; that's why he never abdicated), his love for his family and his people (that he considered as his big family he was the father of).
Then Archduchess Catharina talked about the political ideas of her grandfather, his work for the peace in Europe and his dream of an united Europe; she talked also of her grandmother, to whom she was very affectionate, and of the stories about the Emperor that the Empress related her; according to Archduchess Catharina, Zita remained in love with her late husband until she died; and soon before Zita died, when she met Catharina for the last time, the Empress told her "It's the time to leave. You can't imagine my happiness: I go and see your Grandfather. I don't see him since 67 years"; her eyes were glistening like the eyes of a girl in love, told Catharina.
The article talked also about the work of Catharina in Brescia, in Italy, where she often lives (her husband comes from Brescia) and where she supports a cultural centre with the aim of making known the life, the work and the holiness of the late Emperor Charles; this centre is set in the Church of San Gottardo, where are some relics of the Late Emperor.