Joan is honored as as a virgin who gave her life because she wanted to obey God . . .
Feast Day: May 30
Canonized: 1920
Joan of Arc, a simple peasant girl, began to hear mysterious voices daily in 1425. She identified the speaker as St. Michael the Archangel, who in 1428 instructed her to raise the siege at Orleans. “And me,” she said, “I answered it that I was a poor girl who knew not how to ride nor lead in war.” But the voice insisted it was God’s will, and Joan obeyed.
For years England had waged war against France, pressing its claim to the French throne. Now with the imminent conquest of Orleans, the French cause was nearly lost. Joan believed her mission was to get Charles, the crown prince, installed as king. In 1429, she led an army that turned the English back from Orleans. The saint’s mission was accomplished on July 17, 1429, when Charles was crowned king.
A year later, Charles’ Burgundian enemies captured Joan and handed her over to the English. Her captors could not execute her for beating them at war, so they had her tried in an ecclesiastical court as a heretic. The trial was stacked against Joan, but she defended herself admirably. For a brief time she seemed to accede to the court’s demand that she recant. However, she soon recovered and asserted herself. Thus the court condemned her as a relapsed heretic, and on May 31, 1431, burned her at the stake in the market square at Rouen.
Twenty years later Joan’s family pressed Pope Callixtus III to review her case. In 1456, the original judgment was reversed and she was declared innocent. St. Joan of Arc is not technically a martyr since she was killed because of her politics, not her faith. We honor her, however, as a virgin who gave her life because she wanted to obey God.
This column is written for Legatus Magazine by Bert Ghezzi. He writes and speaks frequently about saints. Ghezzi’s books include “Voices of the Saints,” “Mystics and Miracles,” and “Saints at Heart.” Online: bertghezzi.com