1931. Beatification The beatification process was begun in 1944 as a joint effort of the Archbishop of Vienna (Austria) and the bishop of Szombathely (Hungary). The process became forgotten for some time afterwards, before it was taken up again in 1982 due to the initiative of the bishop of Eisenstadt (Austria), Stefan László. On 11 July 1992 László Batthyány-Strattmann was declared a Venerable - a necessary step for beatification. He was beatified on 23 March 2003 by Pope John Paul II. Five years later, on 23 March 2008, the fifth anniversary of his beatification, the Dr. Ladislaus Batthyány-Strattmann confraternity of prayer for the canonization of the poor's doctor was invested by the archbishop of Vienna Christoph Cardinal Schönborn as a private association, being entitled under the justification of canon law. References Further reading Josef Dirnbeck: Geöffnete Augen. Ladislaus Batthyány-Strattmann und sein Leben als "Arzt der Armen". Güssing 2003. Rudolf Kroyer: Ladislaus Batthyány-Strattmann - EIn Leben im Dienste Gottes und der Menschen. Eisenstadt 1986/1999 Erzsébet Pálffy-Batthyány: Batthyány-Strattmann László ferences herceg. Budapest 1931 Mária Puskely: Dr. Batthyány-Strattmann László. 1870-1931. Dokumentált életrajz. Budapest 2001 External links Official biography on the Vatican website of the Batthyany Family Dr. Ladislaus Batthyány-Strattmann, a confraternity of prayer Hungarian nobility Hungarian general practitioners Hungarian ophthalmologists Members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Hungarian beatified people Laszlo 20th-century venerated Christians 1870 births People from Győr-Moson-Sopron County Hungarian people of German descent 1931 deaths Deaths from cancer in Austria Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II Deaths from bladder cancer 20th-century Hungarian physicians Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary