Archduke Otto von Habsburg, r.i.p.

A great European Catholic statesman of the post-war era was buried today:

A detail in the funeral ceremony of the Habsburgs stands out:
According to Habsburg tradition, a herald knocked on the door of the Capuchin church above the crypt, announcing the long list of noble and political titles of the deceased. A friar refuses entry twice. Only when von Habsburg was announced as “Otto: a mortal, sinful man”, was his coffin admitted.
An Austrian television drama depicts the rite thus:

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