Chai Brady
Prince Ferdinand von Habsburg 
A race car driving prince has opened up about how he always tries to go to Mass before his races, even asking a priest to celebrate a private Mass in his hotel room when there was none available.
Prince Ferdinand von Habsburg, who competes in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) but has also raced in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, spoke about the importance of Mass in a recent interview.
Before a race in Germany he asked a young priest he knew, who he described as a distant cousin and a “very, very great guy” to come to the race.
“I try not to miss a Sunday without going to church and that includes race weekends so normally when I go to a racetrack I would find out where is the closest church and if there is a Mass that I can go to on a race day. There was none in the area,” he said.
He said he asked Fr Wolfgang if “he would mind having a private Mass for me in my hotel room because there is no other place, and he said absolutely”.
Speaking about the priest, the prince said: “He’s just a really nice guy to have around as well. Someone who I speak to a lot when it comes to questions about spirituality. I have been very blessed and fortunate when it comes to people around me.
“Fr Wolfgang is a young priest, a very, very great guy…when you’re speaking with somebody and you know whatever they’re trying to say is 100% for you to become the best version of yourself, those are people you need to hang on to, those are unique people and I have been very blessed with that,” he said.
A prince of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, Ferdinand is a grandson of Otto von Habsburg, the last crown prince of Austria-Hungary. His great-grandfather Emperor Charles I was beatified in 2004.
