As his troops mobilized and prepared to march against Serbia in 1914, starting the First World War, Franz Josef asked Saint Pius X to give the Apostolic Blessing to the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s soldiers. The holy Pontiff answered:
— “I am the Pope of all Catholics and cannot bless some as they attack the others.”
Vicente Vega, Diccionario ilustrado de frases célebres y citas literárias (Barcelona: Gustavo Gili, 1955), 111. (Nobility.org translation.)
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 418
