sister-in-law Isabella. Her mother, Maria Theresa, found comfort in the fact that before her death Maria Johanna made a complete confession of her sins to a Catholic priest. Maria Theresa wrote to Maria Johanna’s sister, Maria Christina: Your sister has confessed her sins for three-quarters of an hour, with a preciseness, repentance and devotion which brought her confessor to tears; since then, she is very weak. I cannot thank the loving God enough that he gives me this comfort; I give her completely into his hand and expect that her destiny cannot be anything than happy." Aftermath The loss of Maria Johanna to smallpox, along with that of other members of the family, contributed to Maria Theresa’s decision to have the younger members of her family inoculated, and the subsequent acceptance of smallpox inoculation in Austria. Ancestry References Bibliography 1750 births 1762 deaths 18th-century Austrian people 18th-century Austrian women House of Habsburg-Lorraine Deaths from smallpox Austrian princesses Burials at the Imperial Crypt Burials at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna Infectious disease deaths in Austria Daughters of emperors Children of Maria Theresa Royalty and nobility who died as children Daughters of kings