Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc, also known as 'The Maid of Orléans', is an iconic figure in French history and a saint of the Catholic Church. Born in the Lorraine region, she claimed from adolescence to hear divine voices instructing her to liberate France from English occupation and to have the Dauphin Charles VII crowned. Despite her youth and humble origins, she managed to convince the Dauphin and lead the royal armies, achieving several crucial victories, notably the Siege of Orléans in 1429. She then accompanied Charles VII to Reims for his coronation. Captured by the Burgundians, she was sold to the English, tried for heresy by a biased ecclesiastical court, and condemned to death. She was burned at the stake in Rouen on May 30, 1431. Rehabilitated in 1456, she was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920, becoming one of France's secondary patron saints. Her story embodies faith, courage, and resilience.