As with other saints who were excommunicated or investigated by ecclesiastic courts, such as Athanasius, Teresa of Ávila, and John of the Cross, Joan was put on trial by an Inquisitorial court. In her case, the court was influenced by the English, which occupied northern France, leading to her execution in the marketplace of Rouen. When the French retook Rouen in 1449, a series of investigations were launched. Her now-widowed mother Isabelle Romée and Joan's brothers Jéan and Pierre, who were with Joan at the Siege of Orléans, petitioned Pope Nicholas V to reopen her case. The formal appeal was conducted in 1455 by Jean Bréhal, Inquisitor-General of France, under the aegis of Pope Callixtus III. Isabelle addressed the opening session of the appellate trial at Notre Dame with an impassioned plea to clear her daughter's name. Joan was exonerated on 7 July 1456, with Bréhal's summary of case evidence describing her as being executed by a court which itself had violated Church law.[5]
The city of Orléans had commemorated her death each year beginning in 1432, and from 1435 onward performed a religious play centered on the lifting of the siege. The play represented her as a divinely-sent savior guided by angels. In 1452, during one of the postwar investigations into her execution, Cardinal d'Estouteville declared that this play would merit qualification as a pilgrimage site by which attendees could gain an indulgence.
Not long after the appeal, Pope Pius II, who died in 1464, wrote an approving piece about her in his memoirs.[6]
16th century
An anonymous author wrote a biography of Joan's life, stating that it was compiled "By order of the King, Louis XII of that name" in circa 1500.[7]
18th and 19th centuries
Joan's cult of personality was opposed by the leaders of the French Revolution as she was a devout Catholic who had served the monarchy. They banned the yearly celebration of the lifting of the Siege of Orléans, and Joan's relics, including her sword and banner, were destroyed. A statue of Joan erected by the people of Orléans in 1571 (to replace one destroyed by Protestants in 1568) was melted down and made into a cannon.[8]
"The illustrious career of Joan of Arc proves that there is no miracle French genius cannot perform in the face of a threat against national freedom."[11][12]
Gois's work was relocated to Place Dauphiné in 1855,[13] replaced with a statue of Joan by Denis Foyatier.[14]
Commemorative medallion made in France at the time of Joan of Arc's beatification
However, the path to sainthood did not go smoothly. On 20 August 1902, the papal consistory rejected adding Joan to the Calendar of saints, citing: she launched the assault on Paris on the birthday of Mary, mother of Jesus; her capture ("proof" her claim that she was sent by God was false); her attempts to escape from prison; her abjure after being threatened with death; and doubts of her purity.[25][26] On 17 November 1903, the Sacred Congregation of Rites met to discuss Joan's cause at the behest of Pope Pius X.[27][28] A decree proclaiming Joan's heroic virtue was issued on 6 January 1904 by Cardinal Serafino Cretoni,[29] and Pius proclaimed her venerable on 8 January.[30] The Decree of the Three Miracles was issued on 13 December 1908, and The Decree of Beatification was read five days later, which was issued formally by the Congregation of Rites on 24 January 1909.[31][32]
Her beatification approximately coincided with the French invention of the Janvier transfer engraving machine (also called a die engraving pantograph), which facilitates the creation of minted coins and commemorative medallions. This invention, together with the already well-established French sculptural tradition, added another element to Joan's beatification: a series of well-made religious art medals featuring scenes from her life.
Edmond Richer's La première histoire en date de Jeanne d'Arc: histoire de la Pucelle d'Orléans, written between 1625 and 1630, was published in two volumes in 1911 by Henri and Jules Desclée.[38]
During World War I, French troops carried her image into battle with them. During one battle, they interpreted a German searchlight image projected onto low-lying clouds as an appearance by Joan, which bolstered their morale greatly. [see: The Maid of Orléans: The Story of Joan of Arc Told to American Soldiers by Charles Saroléa (1918)]
In the 18 May 1920 Le Matin, former President of FranceRaymond Poincaré wrote that Joan's canonization "fulfills the last part of her mission in bringing together forever in the sacredness of her memory" one-time mortal enemies England and France: "In her spirit, let us remain united for the good of Mankind".[44]
Popularity
The St. Joan of Arc Chapel at the Marquette University campus, moved from its original location in France.
Joan of Arc's feast day is 30 May. Although reforms in 1968 moved many medieval European saints' days off the general calendar in order to make room for more non-Europeans, her feast day is still celebrated on many local and regional Church calendars, especially in France. Many Catholic churches around the globe have been named after her in the decades since her canonization.
She has become especially popular among Traditional Catholics, particularly in France—both because of her obvious connection to this country as well as the fact that the Traditional Catholic movement is strongest there. This movement within the church, which includes those few orders and societies which refused to accept the changes made by the Second Vatican Council, has compared the 1988 excommunication of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (one of the founders of the Society of Saint Pius X) to Joan of Arc's excommunication by a corrupt pro-English bishop in 1431.
