ST. JOAN OF ARC

30 MayNorth side Spire-G57
Patron Saint: Patron Saint: radio operators, telegraphers Symbol: Gold Crown, Lilies, Sword

In France, in Rouen, in the region of Normandy, St. Joan of Arc, the virgin called “La Pucelle d’Orleans”, after having bravely fought to defend her Country, was consigned to the hands of the enemy, condemned after an unfair trial and burnt alive. Daughter of farmers, illiterate, still very young she left her home to follow the will of God, disclosed to her by mysterious voices, according to which she should have freed France from the English. Shown up before the court of Charles VII, she was entitled to ride as the leader of an army and, encouraging the troops with her inspiring presence, she managed to free Orleans and gain the victory in the Battle of Patay. Left alone as a consequence of the mistrust of the royal court, Joan could not conclude, according to her project, the struggle against the Anglo-Burgundian; she was first wounded at the doors of Paris and in 1430, while she was marching toward Compiegne, she was captured by the Burgundian, who turned her over to the English. Brought to Rouen before an ecclesiastical tribunal, after exhausting questioning, she was condemned for heresy and burnt alive. She was rehabilitated in 1465. In 1920 Pope Benedict XV canonised her. The name Joan, of Hebrew origin, means “The Lord is beneficent”, “gift of God”.