Saint Joan of Arc, Flower of France

Sometime while I was in college, there was a brief craze of movies about St. Joan of Arc.  That is, if you count a T.N.T. miniseries starring Leelee Sobieski and a terrible movie starring Milla Jovovich.  The miniseries was decent, and Leelee Sobieski was a pretty good fit for the role.  The movie, called "The Messenger," portrayed St. Joan as a charlatan who invented her visions & voices in order to seek revenge on the violent death of her sister.  I have very little good things to say about it and it angers me that the reputation of such a great saint was defamed.

No matter.  What prompts me to write about St. Joan is a book written by French historian Regine Pernoud.  So much has been written on St. Joan's condemnatory trial--but since that was technically an ecclesiastical trial (however twisted and politically motivated it was), St. Joan had to be "rehabilitated" (as Pernoud calls it) from being a relapsed heretic.  In terms of ink, nobody who writes about St. Joan seems to care about the rehabilitation trial!  Before Pernoud's book, I don't know if there was anything written in English on the subject... only in French.   

Pernoud's The Retrial of Joan of Arc: The Evidence for Her Vindication covers the trial that occurred twenty-five years after her death.  Many witnesses from the trial were still alive, including those that passed judgment on her.  Witnesses from all parts of St. Joan's life were called to testify to her character; her mother, childhood friends, her soldiers, priests, and bishops.  In reading this book, I gained a great appreciation for St. Joan.  She is commonly known for her military exploits, but that's not what made her a saint!

The testimony of the witnesses was overwhelming.  All described her as a kind, thoughtful girl.  She participated in the sacraments as often as she could.  She was widely held to be a good Catholic in word and deed.  

Her time as a soldier was also marked by sanctity.  She held a high standard for herself, but also expected the same for those around her.  Soldiers knew not to take the name of the Lord in vain around her; she chewed out many a man for doing so.  Prostitutes were not allowed in the camps and were literally chased away if they tried to join the camp.  More than one soldier noticed an odd thing about her great chastity: they lost the ability to lust after women when around her.  

We speak in hushed tones, respecting the heck out of mystics like St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, and many others.  Don't forget that St. Joan was a mystic, too!  Her voices and visions were a privilege afforded to very few.  A simple, illiterate farm girl from Domremy, one of the least by worldly standards.  

As St. Joan was tied to the stake and the fire stoked, she cried out to Jesus, begging him for mercy.  One of the bishops present wept openly and bitterly.  One of the English soldiers, who boasted that he'd  personally bring the fuel for her burning, witnessed St. Joan's execution.  He, too, was moved to tears and went to confession immediately after St. Joan's death.  

Let's remember that the Church declared her a saint for possessing a rare quality of holiness--not for being popular, not for being a military hero.