Lives of the saints: St. Joan of Arc

Christ calls each of us to work in the world, building up the Kingdom of God, often in ways we can’t possibly understand. Imagine if one day you started to hear voices that claimed to have a great mission for you. How would you respond? Joan of Arc, the daughter of a poor French farmer, decided to respond by putting her faith into action, no matter the cost.

Joan was only 13 when the voices began. She heard St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret, and they had a holy mission for her-to save France from its enemies. Though she did not like to talk about the voices she heard, Joan, through her intense prayer life, recognized that God was truly at work and asking her to act. Joan had a hard time finding people who would believe her. Her father wanted to arrange a marriage for her, and local Church leaders did not give her visions any credit. Nevertheless, Joan met with French officials when she was 17, determined to fulfill God’s plan.

Though the French leaders she met doubted that a young woman was the key to military victory, Joan convinced them to bring her to Charles VII, the king of France who, though king, was being challenged. In a private meeting with the king, Joan revealed information that only a true messenger of God could have known-information that convinced Charles VII of Joan’s credibility. She promised him that his kingship would be restored, and asked for a small army.

Joan put her troops to work, and in May 1429 she chased the English-the bitter rivals of France-out of Orleans. Several military successes followed, and it wasn’t long before King Charles was crowned at Rheims with Joan at his side.

Through it all, the voices never left Joan. In fact, they warned her that she had little time left on earth. At age 19, she was wounded in a battle and captured by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English. She was abandoned by her French allies, put on trial as a heretic and, in 1431, burned at the stake. But Joan never lost her faith.

Although it took 30 years for Church leaders to officially declare Joan’s innocence, the people of France-and eventually the world-saw in her someone who had tried her best to do what God asked. In 1920, she was canonized.

God asked St. Joan to play a pivotal role in the course of world affairs. In all of the Stories of Hope from CRS Rice Bowl, we see the impact we can have when we put our faith into action. How is God asking you to put your faith into action in the world around you?