Why is Joan of Arc a saint?

Joan of Arc (1412–1431) was formally canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 16 May 1920 by Pope Benedict XV in his bull Divina disponente, which concluded the canonization process that the Sacred Congregation of Rites instigated after a petition of 1869 of the French Catholic hierarchy. Although pro-English clergy had Joan burnt at the stake for heresy in 1431, she was rehabilitated in 1456 after a posthumous retrial. Subsequently, she became a folk saint among French Catholics and soldiers inspired by her story of being commanded by God to fight for France against England.

She is a saint of simplicity, obedience and single-minded devotion to duty. She is a saint of singular inner faith and trust in God’s providence. She is a curiously Old Testament like figure in her military service of God and his plans – a mixture of Samson and Deborah. And yet she is uncannily modern in her strong and powerful femininity. She was docile to God’s will, but no pushover to the men of power who surrounded her. She demanded spiritual standards from all who kept her company. She insisted on being listened to when she knew she was speaking the truth. She put mettle into weak hearts and doubting minds, chiding men for their double dealing and moral cowardice.

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