Joan of Arc was born around 1412 to a peasant family in Domrémy, France. As a young girl she experienced visions of saints urging her to help free her country, and at seventeen she led French forces to a decisive victory at Orléans during the Hundred Years' War. Captured and unjustly condemned, she died at the stake in Rouen on May 30, 1431, at just nineteen; the Church later cleared her name and canonized her in 1920.
Joan shows us that God can work through the young, the small, and the seemingly unqualified when they trust Him completely. Even facing fear, misunderstanding, and death, she held fast to her faith and to the voice of God in her heart. Her short life reminds us that holiness is not measured in years, but in love and courage.
Saint Joan of Arc, brave and faithful even as a young person, pray for us — that we may trust God's voice in our hearts and follow Him with courage, whatever comes. Amen.Enter today’s Mass → All saints →