Monday, March 24, 2008

Marie-Adelaide, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (1894-1924)


In 1912, Marie-Adelaide of Nassau-Weilburg ascended the grand-ducal throne of Luxembourg. She was not only the first ruling princess but a devout Catholic succeeding her Protestant father. She encountered many problems, including war and modernism. Like Blessed Charles of Austria, she tried to be a Catholic ruler in the twentieth century. She was forced to abdicate in 1919, and entered a Carmelite monastery. It did not work out for her there and she had to leave. She tried medical school--another disaster. Her health deteriorated and she died in 1924 at the age of twenty-nine. She met every catastrophe with a spirit of humility and resignation to the will of God. In her failure, she achieved ultimate triumph.

Here is a short but deeply inspiring biography of Marie-Adelaide by Diane Moczar.

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