#163: Germany: Microcosm of the Catholic Crisis—Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis (Free Version)

Despite being one of the wealthiest women in Germany, and having hobnobbed with top prelates and politicians, royalty and rock stars, for most of her life, Her Serene Highness the Dowager Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis exudes childlike joy. She is the picture of unaffected simplicity and she speaks truths, some of them uncomfortable, in a way that suggests she’s beyond political game-playing and certainly beyond political correctness.

In this candid and wide-ranging interview, Princess Gloria describes her German upbringing, her beloved aunt who was a Benedictine nun, her now-famous jet-set life in the United States (Vanity Fair dubbed her the “Punk Princess”), the loss of her husband Johannes I, and the trials involved in raising three young children alone with massive debt.

For someone surrounded by opulence, she understands deeply the need for detachment from and disinterest towards, the shiny things of this world. In short, she is a practicing Catholic who would like to see sanctity as something every day and normal.

In this episode you will learn

• How Germany’s hangover from Lutheran-tinged Puritanism affects evangelization
• Her attitude toward rubbing shoulders with secularist figures like Hillary Clinton, Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol, heads of state—and the homeless people who are fed at her Palace in Regensburg
• What happened when she reached out to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and how she has been shaped by their friendship
• Why is she loves Africa and Africans as signs of hope and sanity for the future of the Church
• Her friendship with beleaguered Cardinal Gerhard Müller and why our clergy need strength and affirmation in the age of Pope Francis
• What can happen to those around us when Catholics make the decision by God’s grace to enjoy the color, riches, beauty and depth of the Catholic Faith through simple kindness and joy
• Why every baptized Christian is an artist

Resources mentioned in this episode

• The House of Thurn and Taxis, by Todd Eberle (Photographer), Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis (Contributor), Sir John Richardson (Contributor), Martin Mosebach (Contributor), Jeff Koons (Contributor). 
• Vanity Fair cover essay by Derek Blasberg.
• Thurn und Taxis website
• Poustinia: Encountering God in Silence, Solitude and Prayer  by Catherine De Hueck Doherty
• Homily at the January 2, 2020, Mass at the FOCUS/SLS conference in Phoenix, AZ, by His Eminence Gerhard Cardinal Müller

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