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Description
Birthdate: ~1412 AD; Exact date unknown
Canonized: May 16th, 1920 by Pope Benedict XV
Patronage: Secondary Patron Saint of France

Background:
While Jeanne d'Arc (also known as Joan of Arc) was in her father's garden, she witnessed a vision of St. Michael, St. Margaret, and St. Catherine of Alexandria. They told her to support Charles VII and aid recover France from the English in the later years of the Hundred Year's War. Following their instruction, she went to the front, giving advice and encouragement to the soldiers. She did not join in the fighting, which would explain why depictions of her usually show her sword sheathed at her side. Instead, she carried the banner at the sidelines of the fighting, resulting in her getting struck by two arrows and a stone during the campaign.

Her presence drastically altered the tides of the war, paving the way for France's victory. Unfortunately, she was ultimately captured during an attempt to rout the Burgundian camp near Compiegne, and eventually tried for heresy by a group of English clergy headed by Bishop Cauchon. This trial was not only politically motivated, but outright fraudulent, and eventually required those involved to fabricate evidence to a minor charge in order to find her guilty of anything. Finding her guilty of crossdressing (which was not a capital offense in the first place) they executed her by burning her at the stake.

Twenty years later, Pope Callixtus III authorized a retrial at the request of Jean Brehal and Joan's mother Isabelle Romee. The purpose of the trial was to investigate if things had been handled justly and according to canon law. This investigation lasted roughly four years, finding that the trial violated a staggering number of canon laws and regulations. This resulted in her being declared a martyr, and the now deceased Pierre Cauchon was labeled a heretic for allowing a worldly grudge to drive him to convict an innocent woman to death.

Description
Birthdate: ~1412 AD; Exact date unknown
Canonized: May 16th, 1920 by Pope Benedict XV
Patronage: Secondary Patron Saint of France

Background:
While Jeanne d'Arc (also known as Joan of Arc) was in her father's garden, she witnessed a vision of St. Michael, St. Margaret, and St. Catherine of Alexandria. They told her to support Charles VII and aid recover France from the English in the later years of the Hundred Year's War. Following their instruction, she went to the front, giving advice and encouragement to the soldiers. She did not join in the fighting, which would explain why depictions of her usually show her sword sheathed at her side. Instead, she carried the banner at the sidelines of the fighting, resulting in her getting struck by two arrows and a stone during the campaign.

Her presence drastically altered the tides of the war, paving the way for France's victory. Unfortunately, she was ultimately captured during an attempt to rout the Burgundian camp near Compiegne, and eventually tried for heresy by a group of English clergy headed by Bishop Cauchon. This trial was not only politically motivated, but outright fraudulent, and eventually required those involved to fabricate evidence to a minor charge in order to find her guilty of anything. Finding her guilty of crossdressing (which was not a capital offense in the first place) they executed her by burning her at the stake.

Twenty years later, Pope Callixtus III authorized a retrial at the request of Jean Brehal and Joan's mother Isabelle Romee. The purpose of the trial was to investigate if things had been handled justly and according to canon law. This investigation lasted roughly four years, finding that the trial violated a staggering number of canon laws and regulations. This resulted in her being declared a martyr, and the now deceased Pierre Cauchon was labeled a heretic for allowing a worldly grudge to drive him to convict an innocent woman to death.