**FRANCESCO CARACCIOLO, Saint.** — Born in Villa S. Maria (Chieti) on 13 Oct. 1503 into a noble family, he lived an exemplary life in his father’s house until the age of 22, when he secretly went to Naples and was ordained a priest. By mistake, he received a letter from the Venerable Servant of God Agostino Adorno and from his kinsman Fabrizio Caracciolo, Abbot of S. Maria Maggiore in Naples, who proposed founding a new Order of the Minor Regular Clerics. He immediately followed them and, together with them, drafted the Order’s constitutions, obtaining their approval in Rome from Sixtus V on 1 July 1588. Upon his profession in Naples the following year, he changed his baptismal name from Ascanio to F. When Adorno died on 29 Sept. 1591, the General Chapter unanimously elected F. C. as its Superior General.
His brief life was a miracle of charity and apostolic zeal, marked by harsh and continual penance. He fostered devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist and desired that perpetual adoration be a distinctive mark of his Order. He died in Agnone on the vigil of Corpus Christi, 4 June 1608. He was beatified by Clement XIV on 10 Sept. 1709 and canonized by Pius VII on 24 May 1807. His remains are venerated in the church of S. Maria in Monte Vergine in Naples. Of his writings, some letters and a devotional book entitled *Le sette stazioni* survive. His feast is celebrated on 4 June.
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**FRANCIS JOSEPH OF HABSBURG-LORENE, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.** — Son of Archduke Francis Charles, brother of Emperor Ferdinand and of Sophie of Bavaria, he was born in Laxenburg Castle on 18 Aug. 1830 and died at Schönbrunn on 21 Nov. 1916. He received a thorough and rigorous education from distinguished tutors, among whom Count Bombelles and Abbot Rauscher—later Cardinal-Archbishop of Vienna—stood out; together with his mother, they instilled in him a deep respect and practical awareness of the Catholic faith, which remained with him until his death. He was not destined for the throne, but circumstances brought him to it during the crisis of 1848. After his uncle’s abdication, he ascended the throne on 3 Dec. of that same year and inherited a state seemingly doomed to certain ruin.
The young monarch was fortunate, however, to find at his side a man, Prince Felix Schwarzenberg, determined to restore the dynasty’s prestige. Within the space of a single year, the empire was once again firmly in the hands of its rulers. Having initiated negotiations with the bishops, F. J. repealed the regulations governing Church-State relations since the time of Joseph II. By imperial patents issued on 18 and 23 Apr. 1850, the bishops regained full freedom to communicate with the Holy See and to oversee the appointment of theology professors whose preparation was deemed insufficient. This was the first step toward the definitive elimination of Josephinism, later sanctioned by the Concordat of 1855. After the wars of 1859 and 1866, the liberal movement gained strength. The era of absolutism had ended, and the emperor was compelled to grant a constitution.
FRANCIS JOSEPH OF HABSBURG-LORENE. — Portrait. Print, Rome, Museo del Risorgimento.