Blessed László 7th Prince Batthyány-Strattmann

László, 7th Prince Batthyany-Strattmann (German: Ladislaus Batthyány-Strattmann; 28 October 1870 – 22 January 1931) was a Hungarian aristocrat and physician. Until 1914, he was known as László Batthyány. A devout Catholic, he became known as the "doctor of the poor" and was beatified by the Church in 2003. László Batthyány-Strattmann was born on 28 October 1870, in Dunakiliti, Austria-Hungary, into an ancient Hungarian aristocratic family, the son of Count József Batthyány von Német-Ujvar (1836-1897) and his first wife and cousin, Countess Ludowika Batthyány von Német-Ujvar (1843-1882). The family moved to Austria in 1876. His childhood was marred by the fact that his father left his family and converted to Protestantism in order to marry another woman. After obtaining a divorce on 21 January 1879, his father married Countess Antonia Kornis de Gönczruszka (1835-1917). László first attended the grammar school run by the Jesuits in Kalksburg, before moving to Kalocsa. László's mother died when he was twelve years old. He completed his secondary school studies in Uzhhorod. According to the will of his father, he first prepared himself to care for the vast property of the Batthyánys. He studied agriculture at the Economic Academy of Vienna, and later he studied a great number of other subjects, including chemistry, philosophy and music. In this chaotic period in his life, he also fathered an illegitimate daughter. Batthyány became a student of medicine in 1896, and gained his degree of M.D. in 1900. He trained as a general practitioner, but soon specialized in surgery, and later in ophthalmology. This period was also accompanied by a renewal of his religious faith. He met Countess Maria Theresia von Coreth zu Coredo und Starkenberg (1874-1951), a devout Catholic, daughter of Count Karl Theodor von Coreth zu Coredo und Starkenberg (1837-1894) and his wife, Anna Bogdanovna Pankratieva (1849-1912), member of the Russian nobility and niece of Nikita Pankratiev.