Saint Joan of Arc

Most people remember Joan for her military exploits. During the Hundred Years War, she 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.

The following year, Joan was captured, sold to the English, and placed on trial for heresy and witchcraft. Professors at the University of Paris supported Bishop Pierre Cauchon of Beauvis, the judge at her trial; Cardinal Henry Beaufort of Winchester, England, participated in questioning  Joan in prison. Ultimately, she was condemned for wearing men’s clothes. On this day in 1431, Joan was burned at the stake in Rouen, and her ashes were scattered in the Seine River. A second Church trial 25 years later nullified the earlier verdict, which was reached under political pressure. 

Joan also had a great love for the sacraments, which strengthened her compassion toward the poor. Theologian George Tavard writes that her life “offers a perfect example of the conjunction of contemplation and action."