The Hapsburg family were very influential rulers in Europe, from the middle ages to the first World War. Due to the upheaval from war, the Hapsburg's were deposed. The last of the reigning family was to be interred in the family plot, which was inside a Franciscan monastery.
The ceremony was a tradition. The Hapsburg family would arrive at the entrance of the monastery and knock. The porter, who was a Capuchin friar answered the knock and asked who wanted to enter. The Hapsburgs replied, giving their noble titles. The porter replied that he didn't know him, and shut the door. The funeral procession's master of ceremonies knocked again. The porter opened the door and asked who wanted to enter. This time, they replied with academic titles and achievement. But once again, the response was that the porter didn't know him. The third time, when the knock was answered and the friar asked who wanted to enter, the answer was "A poor sinner named Otto." The door was opened wide.
Despite his imperial background and personal credentials, Otto von Habsburg could not access his final resting place in Vienna’s Imperial Crypt without a display of humility that is a cherished part of the Habsburg funeral ritual.
I hope to remember this answer when I knock on the pearly gates of heaven.
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