St. Joan of Arc

Joan (Jeanne in French) was born in Domrémy in Champagne, France, on January 6, 1412. When she was young, war broke out between France and England, and the Duke of Burgundy sided with the English, thus splitting France in two. Charles VII, King of France, could not be crowned in the Cathedral at Rheims because Rheims was held by the enemy.

Joan was a very pious child, and at the age of thirteen, she began to hear the voices of saints, including Michael, Margaret and Catherine. They insisted that she go to the King's generals with a military plan to defeat the English. She was mocked and rebuffed at first, but her piety and fervor prevailed, and she was at last given command of a force in 1429.

The demoralized French troops rallied behind her white "Jésus - Maria" banner and won victories that were seen as miraculous. Her successes led to the coronation of Charles at Rheims in July, 1429, where Joan in her white armor stood at his side. But the war with Burgundy dragged on, and Joan once again took to the field in the spring of 1430. She was captured and sold to the English who feared her fanatical following and wanted her dead. They held her at Rouen in Normandy on charges of witchcraft and heresy. The French king did nothing to help free her.

She was chained at the neck, wrists and ankles, forbidden the sacraments because of the nature of the charges against her. She aroused so much sympathy during her trial that the Inquisitors completed the trial away from the public. She was found to be a heretic and sentenced to death by burning, which in those days was thought to purify the soul of a sinner.

When Joan was confronted with the sight of the stake, she made some kind of hasty retraction and signed an agreement to never wear men's clothes again. But, either through a trick on the part of the English or her own change of heart, she once again put on her armor and was sentenced to death without recourse, as a lapsed heretic; she died on May 30, 1430 and her feast is celebrated on May 30.

As she was being burned, she kept her eyes fixed steadfastly on a cross held up at her request by a Dominican monk, affirming to the end that her voices came from God. Her window shows her in armor, and in the background, listening to the voices. Her shield shows her sword and the fleur-de-lis of France. Beneath it is the crown of heaven and the palms of martyrdom. Above is her execution.

She was cleared of all charges against her in 1456, but she was not canonized until 1920. She is the patron saint of France.