Saint of the Month – St. Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc)

Saint of the Month – St. Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc)

Saint Jeanne d’Arc, The Maid of Orleans is a recognized Saint of the Roman Catholic Church. The details of the life of Jeanne d’Arc form a biography which is unique among the world’s biographies in one respect: It is the only story of a human life which comes to us under oath, the only one which comes to us from the witness-stand.  Although she was excommunicated and burned at the stake for heresy by local officials in 1431, central Church officials would later nullify her excommunication, declaring her a martyr unjustly executed for a secular vendetta. Her legend would grow from there, leading to her beatification in 1909 and her canonization in 1920.

On January 6, 1412, Joan of Arc was born to pious parents of the French peasant class in the obscure village of Domremy, near the province of Lorraine. At a very early age, she was said to have heard the voices of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. At first, the messages were personal and general, but when she was 13 years old, she was in her father's garden and had visions of Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret, each of whom told her to drive the English from French territory. They also asked that she bring the Dauphin to Reims for his coronation. After their messages were delivered and the saints departed, Joan cried, "They were so beautiful."  During the Hundred Years War, Joan led French troops against the English and recaptured the cities of Orléans and Troyes. This enabled Charles VII to be crowned as king in Reims in 1429. Captured near Compiegne the following year, Joan was sold to the English and placed on trial for heresy and witchcraft. In the end, she was condemned for wearing men’s clothes. The English resented France’s military success, to which Joan contributed. 

Joan loved her country and her king, but she was not a nationalist, nor was she a partisan in French politics. She simply loved France as a homeland—its native soil, its regional features, its rivers, forests, fields, and towns.  Her solution for the war: the peaceful withdrawal of the English. Joan’s tears over the wounded and the dead and her comfort of the dying, English and French alike, indicate clearly that she took no delight in war. She told her chaplain, “If I am to die soon, tell the king our liege from me that he must establish chapels for people to pray for the souls of those who died in the defense of the kingdom.”  Joan was an extraordinarily sacramental saint. She took care that army chaplains heard the confessions of her soldiers, and she herself confessed daily on the battlefield.  In an age when frequent Communion was unusual, Joan attended Holy Mass regularly and with great devotion, daily whenever possible. During the months of her excruciating imprisonment, Joan not only confessed frequently, but she also pleaded again and again to receive the Eucharist, a reception that was denied to her as an accused heretic and then, inexplicably, granted to her as a “food of the martyrs” on the very morning of her execution as a relapsed heretic.

At her Canonization Pope Pius XI had this to say, “Regarding the Maid of Orleans that Our predecessor elevated to the supreme honor of the saints, nobody can question whether under the auspices of the Virgin (Mary) that she has received and fulfilled the mission of saving France, for First, it is under the patronage of Our Lady of Bermont, then under that of the Virgin of Orleans, and finally the Virgin of Reims, she undertook a manly heart so much work, that She remained fearless in the face with swords unsheathed and spotless in the midst of the license camps, she freed his country from the supreme peril and restored the fortunes of France. After having received the advice of his heavenly voice, she added on her glorious banner of the name Mary of Jesus, the true King of France. Mounted on the stake, it is whispering in flames in a final scream, the names of Jesus and Mary, she flew to heaven. So, having experienced the obvious relief of the Maid of Orleans, that France receives the favor of the second heavenly patron: it demanding that the clergy and people, which was already better in our predecessor and we are pleased to Ourselves.”

If you would like to read more about this incredible Saint, please check out the website: https://www.jeanne-darc.info/

In Christ,

Fr. Luke Fleck