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Blessed Karl I or Charles I of Austria was the last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire. He was referred to as the “Peoples Emperor” and a man of peace, during the turbulent WWI. Karl grew up as a devoted Catholic and a daily communicant. He reigned from 1916 until 1918, when he "renounced participation" in state affairs, but did not abdicate. He spent the remaining years of his life attempting to restore the monarchy until his death of respiratory failure in 1922. Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2004, he is known to the Roman Catholic Church as Blessed Karl of Austria.