Blessed Ladislao Batthyany-Strattmann

Blessed Ladislao Batthyany-Strattmann

Born into an ancient noble Hungarian family, the sixth of ten brothers. His family moved to Austria when he was six years old, and his mother died when he was twelve. When of age he studiedagriculture, chemistry, physics, philosophy, literature, music, andmedicine at the University of Vienna, graduating with a medicaldegree in 1900. On 10 November 1898 he married Countess Maria Teresa Coreth, a pious woman, and the couple had thirteenchildren; the whole family attended Mass and prayed the Rosaryevery day.

In 1902 Ladislaus opened a private 25-bed hospital in Kittsee, Austria. He worked there as a general practitioner, and when he had sufficient staff, specialized as a surgeon andeye doctor. During World War I the flood of injured soldiers required him to expand thehospital to 120 beds.

In 1915 Ladislaus inherited the castle of Körmend, Hungary, and with it the family nameStrattman and the title of Prince. In 1920 he moved his family to the castle, and turned one wing into a hospital specializing in eye diseases. Ladislaus’ skills led him to become an internationally known specialist in opthamology.

Dr Ladislaus never turned away a patient because they could not pay, and provided funds to the destitute. He treated all, kept them in hospital as long as necessary, gave away medications, accepted what patients would pay when they would, but never asked a fee from anyone except that they pray an Our Father for him. He prayed over each patientbefore working on them, knew that his skills were simply God working through his hands, and saw his family fortune as a way to help the poor. He was considered a saint in life by his family, his patients and fellow healers.