Saint Joan of Arc
Feast day: May 30
Virgin warrior and martyr of France, symbol of fidelity to God and the freedom of peoples.
Joan was born in Domrémy, Lorraine, around 1412, into a deeply Christian peasant family.
At thirteen she began hearing voices she identified as St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret, urging her to free France from English occupation.
In 1429 she convinced the dauphin Charles VII to entrust her with troops; she liberated Orléans and led the prince to his coronation at Reims.
Captured at Compiègne and sold to the English, she was tried for heresy and burned at the stake in Rouen on May 30, 1431, at only nineteen.
Rehabilitated in 1456, she was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920 by Benedict XV; she is patroness of France and of women in military service.
Her liturgical feast is May 30. The Church venerates her as virgin, martyr, and example of courageous obedience to God's will.
Dedicated prayer
To the virgin warrior and martyr of France, we ask faithful courage and intercession in spiritual battles.
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