Saint of the Day Online - St Joan of Arc

Saint of the Day for Tuesday, May 30th, 2017

Saint Name: St Joan of Arc
Place: Domremy
Birth: January 6, 1412
Death: May 30th, 1431

Joan of Arc was born on January 6, 1412, 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, as "they were so beautiful."

When she was sixteen-years-old, she asked her relative, Durand Lassois, to take her to Vaucouleurs, where she petitioned Robert de Baudricourt, the garrison commander, for permission to visit the French Royal Court in Chinon.

Despite Baudricourt's sarcastic response to her request, Joan returned the following January and left with the support of two of Baudricourt's soldiers: Jean de Metz and Bertrand de Poulengy.

Joan of Arc was a symbol of the Catholic League during the 16th century and when Félix Dupanloup was made the bishop of Orléans in 1849, he pronounced a panegyric on Joan of Arc and led efforts leading to Joan of Arc's beatification in 1909. On May 16, 1920, Pope Benedict XV canonized her.

Centuries after her head, Joan became known as a semi-legendary figure. There were several sources of information about her life, time on the battlefield and trials, with the main sources being chronicles.

Many women have seen Joan as a brace and active woman who operated within a religious tradition that believed a person of any class could receive a divine calling.

Joan of Arc has been depicted in several works by famous writers such as William Shakespeare (Henry VI, Part 1), Voltaire (The Maid of Orleans), Mark Twain (Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc), and much much more.

Images depicting Joan of Arc often show her with short hair adorned in armor.

There are several prayers to Joan of Arc, including the "Prayer of Thanks and Gratitude to St. Joan of Arc," written by Andrea Rau.