2026 Speakers
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![A page with the title 'HIRH PRINCESS MARIA-ANNA HABSBURG GALITZINE' and a photo of a smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a black blazer and sitting with her hands clasped, holding a microphone.]()
Princess Maria-Anna von Habsburg Galitzine
Grandaughter of Blessed Karl & Servant of God Zita
Symposium subject:
Blessed Karl, Emperor of Peace: a very intimate look—-by his own granddaughter—-into a family man who stressed , what he called, “the blessing of peace” in politics,, community, in the church, and in his marriage and even with his children
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![A man wearing a black hoodie and a silver cross necklace standing in a formal garden courtyard with trimmed bushes and trees, with a large building in the background.]()
Right Reverend Dom Philip Anderson O.S.B.
Abbot, Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of Clear Creek, Oklahoma: Benedictine Congregation of Solesmes. [de L'abbaye Notre-Dame de Fontgombault].
Topic:
“An Imperial Contemplative".
This will be the second part of Father Abbot’s conference topic first launched at the 2024 event..
The first part focused on the extraordinary and most arduous adventures of Karl and Zita in the midst of war and of political upheavals.
Now, the second part underlines the monastic dimension of Zita's life after she re-established her family in a friendlier place.
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![A man in a brown suit and red tie at a conference, standing in front of a rocky wall background.]()
Ambassador Archduke Eduard von Habsburg
Hungary’s Ambassador to The Holy See and great-great-great grandson of Kaiser Franz Joseph, predecessor of Blessed Karl.
SYMPOSIUM TOPIC:
Blessed Karl - as father of Nations. What does it mean to have a political leader that truly respects his peoples - by learning their languages, travelling through them and consoling their wounded and sick?
Karl and Zita intimately knew and respected the different cultures that made up their monarchy. In this, they were representatives of a central thought of the Habsburg empire, that the US is also built upon - subsidiarity
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![A man with glasses smiling, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, and a red tie, against a light green background.]()
Eric Sammons
Editor-in-Chief of Crisis Magazine; author of several books, speaker, interviewer and father of seven children.
Symposium Talk:
Blessed Karl as an apostle of peace.
In particular, to tie in his radical and sacrificial commitment to peace with our own duty to promote peace today, even if it's not politically expedient or popular.
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![A smiling middle-aged man with gray hair, wearing a black jacket with a logo that says 'FREE COUNTRY,' standing outdoors in an urban environment with blurred city buildings and vehicles in the background.]()
Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio
Executive Producer of new film “Triumph of the Heart” on Polish-German martyr St. Maximilian Kolbe; Founder and Director of The Crossroads Initiative; Known as “Dr. Italy”, a speaker and skilled, erudite apologist, author, pilgrimage director, theologian, radio presenter on Catholic networks, past university professor of theology, and, host of EWTN series on the Early Church Fathers
SYMPOSIUM TOPIC:
Blessed Karl, St. Joseph, and the Beatitudes: Meekness as characteristic of the successful father and leader.
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![Young man with light brown hair, wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and light pink tie at an indoor social event with people dressed in colorful attire.]()
Archduke Paul von Habsburg
Son of Ambassador Eduard von Habsburg and great(4th) grandson of Kaiser Franz Joseph.
Theme of symposium talk:
Absolute reliance on God that Bl. Karl shows throughout his life, especially later —-a reliance that ought to be a model for our own lives; thus the example Bl. Karl is in my life, as a young Habsburg
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![Portrait of a man with a beard and short hair, wearing a black shirt and a beaded necklace, outdoors with a blurred background of trees and greenery.]()
Father Joseph Matlak
Byzantine Catholic Priest & Professor of Theology at the Benedictine Belmont Abbey College .
SYMPOSIUM TALK:
Our Desire for a King: The Witnesses of Ancient Israel and Blessed Karl
The stories of Israel and Blessed Karl teach us about how, despite journeying out of slavery, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land, we must still contend with our fallen desires for idols. As various prophets warned Israel of the perils of unholy desire, Blessed Karl stands as a royal and prophetic witness to the authentic meaning of journeying away from idols, through the wilderness of our 'lents', and finding the Promised Land and its true King.
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![A woman with short gray hair smiling, wearing a blue blazer and black earrings, standing in front of a wall with a plaque.]()
Suzanne Pearson
Delegate and leader of the Gebetsliga —Emperor Karl League of Prayer—for North America, addressing audiences in the United States, Canada and Europe
TALK SUBJECT: Emperor Karl’s heroic virtue, especially:
1. Virtuous actions and decisions that were particularly difficult for him; and 2. Virtuous practices of his that we can all imitate, but that are particularly difficult for us.
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![A man in a blue suit and tie standing indoors against a beige wall.]()
Dr. Niall Buckley
Native of Ireland, Professor of History / St. Thomas Catholic University.
TALK:
Blessed Karl and the Unified Civitas: A Catholic Habsburg Response to Revolutionary Political Violence 1911-1922.
Description:
This talk will examine Karl's conceptualization of a just Catholic State ordered towards the pursuit of the material and spiritual ends of the human person under his reign. Special attention will be paid to how he sought to exercise his ordained office in response to highly-ideological domestic revolutionary attacks upon the common good; giving us a model example of when duty requires one to wield the sword of justice and when to show mercy to the enemies of both crown and the Church.
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![A man in a tuxedo standing behind a wooden podium on a stage, gesturing with his hands during a speech or presentation.]()
David Ross
Founder & MC of the Blessed Karl Symposium - Dallas, TX
