7/17/11

Burial of His Imperial Highness, Archduke Otto von Habsburg


Yesterday, July, 16 2011 took place the funeral of Otto von Habsburg, the son of blessed Charles I of Austria and the Crow Prince of Austro-Hungary.

There took also place the traditional entombment ceremony ‘source Wikipedia’:

‘A traditional ceremony during the funeral is when the procession of mourners arrives at the gates of the Capuchin Church in Vienna, under which the Imperial Crypt lies, and the Herald knocks on the door. A Capuchin then asks "who demands entry?" The Herald responds with the name and title of the deceased. The Capuchin then responds "we don't know him/her." The same procedure is repeated once. Only on the third attempt, when the Herald responds with "a sinful, mortal human being", the gates are opened and the dead Habsburg admitted into the Crypt. In 1989, Otto's mother, Zita, was first introduced with all her titles, and the second time introduced as "Zita, Her Majesty the Empress and Queen".

Ulrich-Walter Lipp, a lawyer and friend of the family, was chosen to be the Herald in 2011. Otto was first introduced as "Otto of Austria; former Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary; Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia, Lodomeria, and Illyria; Grand Duke of Tuscany and Cracow; Duke of Lorraine, of Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and Bukowina; Grand Prince of Siebenbürgen, Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Silesia, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Guastalla, Oświęcim and Zator, Teschen, Friaul, Dubrovnik and Zadar; Princely Count of Habsburg and Tyrol, of Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca; Prince of Trento and Brixen; Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria; Count of Hohenems, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenburg etc.; Lord of Trieste, Kotor and Windic March, Grand Voivod of the Voivodeship of Serbia etc. etc."
The second time he was introduced as "Dr. Otto von Habsburg" and a number of his civic achievements, notably as President of the Paneuropean Union and Member of the European Parliament, mentioned. "Otto Habsburg-Lothringen", the name Austrian authorities use when referring to him, was not used.

The third time he was introduced as "Otto, a mortal, sinful human being!"

The Capuchin opening the gates was Father Gottfried Undesser, the custodian of the Imperial Crypt. It was also Father Gottfried who opened the gates for Empress-Queen Zita in 1989. Father Gottfried (born 1933) has been a Capuchin since 1951. The Capuchins have been in charge of building and maintaining the Imperial Crypt since 1622.

This was the last time this ceremony was performed at the gates of the Capuchin Church.’

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