Holy Women's History Month: Servant of God Zita of Bourbon-Parma

Caitrin Bennett reflects on how Servant of God Zita of Bourbon-Parma, last empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, has inspired her faith journey.

During Women's History Month, Catholic Mom writers are celebrating the women who have inspired their faith journeys — whether canonized saints, saints in progress, or beloved women from Scripture. Through personal reflections and heartfelt stories, they share how these holy women have touched their lives, offering wisdom, strength, and a deeper connection to God. Join us as we honor the spiritual legacy of these remarkable women and the lasting impact they continue to have on our hearts and souls.

I love making new friends in Heaven, because they pray for me and I can follow their example. I especially need role-models in my two most important earthly roles — as a wife and as a mother — so bonus points if I can find a heavenly friend who was also married with kids. A few years ago, while working on my book about married saints, I met and became fast friends with the Servant of God Zita of Bourbon-Parma. From here on out, let’s just call her Zita.

Zita, Exiled Empress

It’s sort of surprising that so few people have heard of Zita, as she was not a nun hidden away in a convent, but in fact empress of a vast kingdom. Her husband, Bl. Karl I, was the last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Karl was an amazing husband, father, and Christian emperor during the tumultuous years of World War I. He attempted to secure peace and security for his homeland, and in return, he was forced into exile. Soon afterwards, Karl got extremely ill. He felt that God was calling him to give up his life for his people, and he agreed to die for them. So, don’t get me wrong, Karl is a great example himself, and he deserves a lot of veneration and respect.

And yet, in some ways, Karl got off easy. Once he nobly gave up his life, Zita was left behind to grieve, a widow at only 29 years old. It was Zita who would have to protect and provide for her penniless, exiled family, including seven kids and an eighth still on the way. It was Zita who would have to continue advocating for Austria and Hungary, the lands she loved and still claimed as her own, though she was not physically allowed to enter their borders. All of this she did for the remaining 67 years of her life. 

One Big, Happy, Holy Family

To me, Zita is a shining example of the Christian matriarch, resolute in her convictions, yet gentle and nurturing. She never abdicated her throne, and she never lost faith in God, desperate as her situation was. She and her family attended daily Mass as often as possible, and she even begged to receive the Eucharist while she was on the boat headed to their island of exile.

Zita was utterly devoted to her eight children, as well as her 30+ grandchildren and the 60+ great-grandchildren she got to meet. She raised them all to love the Lord. Many of her descendants entered into religious life, and many others into holy Christian marriages like she had shared with Karl. These lives of holiness she helped inspire are the fruits of Zita’s labor of love.

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Zita’s life reminds me that the most important task God has entrusted to me is to raise kids who long for heaven. My kids, in turn, will marry and produce grandchildren and great-grandchildren who strive for holiness. Or, alternatively, they might become priests and religious who are spiritual parents to others, and the beautiful cycle continues from there. True holiness always inspires more holiness, and this is especially acute when your model of holiness is your own mother.

Servant of God Zita, pray for all mothers, that we would raise little saints despite the many obstacles of our lives. Pray that we would nurture the seed of personal holiness until it grows into a vast family tree like yours! Amen.