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Benedictine Brother Nathan Cochran's 18-year mission to help win Vatican recognition of a European monarch who tried secretly to end World War I will come to an end Sunday.

Cochran, the curator of the art collection at St. Vincent Archabbey, near Latrobe, said he believes the Roman Catholic Church's beatification of Emperor Karl of Austria has "a particular poignancy because so much of the problems in eastern Europe could have been avoided had people listened to the emperor from 1916 to 1918."

Emperor Karl Habsburg, the monarch who preferred to be called "emperor of the people," will be beatified along with four others Sunday in a ceremony expected to draw thousands to the Vatican.

Beatification is the process in which the Catholic Church recognizes that someone has lived a holy life. It is usually the first stage toward declaring that person a saint.

Emperor Karl, who lived from 1887 to 1922, ascended to the throne in 1916 upon the death of his great-uncle Emperor Franz Josef. Two years earlier, the assassination of Franz Josef's nephew and heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, launched World War I.

Karl was determined to reform the army, banning flogging and ending duels. He also called a halt to strategic bombing and limited widespread use of poison gas. He died in exile in 1922 at the age of 34.

"He served his people with justice and charity. He sought peace, helped the poor, cultivated a spiritual life with commitment," the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints said in announcing Karl's beatification.

Cochran's mission ran headfirst into the traditions of Rome, where workers go to work to have breakfast, then take a one-hour coffee break, followed by a two-hour lunch break. In August, the city virtually shuts down -- it's the month when Romans go on vacation.

Trying to plan a ceremony expected to be attended by more than 10,000 people under those conditions could be trying, Cochran found.

"Rome closes down every August. Everyone's on vacation. It's hard to get anything done," he said. Complicating the task was the oppressive August weather and some curious Roman customs.

"Romans are afraid of open doors and open windows. They are afraid of drafts," Cochran said. Working in a closed-up office in the heat of August will test even the most dedicated, he conceded.

But Cochran has been working on this project for almost two decades, so he pressed on, earning the praise of the Right Rev. Douglas R. Nowicki, archabbot of St. Vincent Archabbey and chancellor of St. Vincent College and St. Vincent Seminary.

"St. Vincent Archabbey is greatly honored that one of its monks has been chosen to lead the effort in Rome for the beatification of Emperor Karl, who was a compassionate and holy man, devoted to his family," said Nowicki, who is in Rome for the ceremony.

"In an age where the family experiences many stresses, it is encouraging to know that someone who dedicated his life emphasizing the importance of the family to civilization will be honored by the Universal Church for his devotion to the family. Brother Nathan honors us all by joining in this effort."

Cochran is working as the Special Secretary of the Secretariat for the beatification, which is expected to draw visitors from the United States, Madeira, Spain, France, England, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

It will be a familiar setting for Pope John Paul II, who has been criticized for running a sort of saint factory during his tenure.

Since 1979, the pontiff has presided over 465 canonizations, the formal declarations that recognize full-fledged saints, and 1,297 beatifications, which bestow the designation of "blessed." That compares to 447 canonizations and 1,310 beatifications in the preceding 400 years.

In one day, the pope beatified 233 nuns, priests and lay people killed by Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War.

In addition to Emperor Karl, the pope on Sunday also will proclaim as "blessed" Anna Katharina Emmerick, a German mystic and stigmatist. Her visions served as the basis for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." A nun in the Order of Regular Canonesses of St. Augustine, she was confined to her bed by illness for years.

Three others -- two priests and a nun -- also will be recognized by the church Sunday.

Pilgrims attending the beatification of Emperor Karl will have an audience with the pope on Monday.

Cochran became committed to the effort in 1986 after meeting Archduke Rudolph, the sixth child of Emperor Karl.

"I became more convinced that the cause should be spread," said Cochran, who was granted a leave from his duties as a member of the St. Vincent College Fine Arts faculty and director of the St. Vincent Gallery.

Despite this pope's apparent propensity for conferring sainthood, it's not an easy -- or quick -- undertaking, Cochran said.

"The process requires thorough investigation, research, the holiness of the candidate, and the perseverance of a group of people to see all of the processes through to completion," he said.

Hundreds of people had to be interviewed and give testimony about what they knew of Emperor Karl's life, Cochran said. These courts of inquiry involved thousands of pages of testimony and took place in Vienna, Madeira, Switzerland, New York and elsewhere.

The process also requires the documentation of a miracle.

In December 2003, the Vatican recognized the authenticity of a miracle it said was accomplished through Karl's intercession: the healing of a Brazilian nun who at one point in a life of suffering could walk only backward.

The cause of Emperor Karl has taken 81 years to reach this point. And his beatification has aroused controversy in Europe, where some partisans still resent his secret efforts to end World War I, and some opponents of the old European order resent any honor bestowed on a former monarch.

Since the process of beatification began in 1588, the church has recognized only four monarchs. Emperor Karl will be the first male.

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