On May 30, 1431, in the town square of Rouen, France, a 19-year-old peasant girl named Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, convicted as a heretic for her unwavering belief that God had chosen her to lead the French to victory against the English in the Hundred Years‘ War. Nearly 600 years later, that same site is now home to a towering memorial cross and a striking modernist church dedicated to the young woman who became a French national heroine and a Catholic saint.
A Brief History of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc‘s short but extraordinary life is well-documented thanks to the detailed records kept of her trial proceedings. Born around 1412 to a farming family in the village of Domrémy, Joan began having visions of saints and angels at age 13, exhorting her to save France from the English invaders.
In 1428, the 16-year-old Joan traveled to see the French king Charles VII, convincing him to give her an army to command. Clad in white armor and carrying a banner emblazoned with the names "Jhesus Maria," Joan led the French troops to a decisive victory at the Siege of Orléans in just nine days. More victories followed as the French army, their morale boosted by the young visionary, pushed the English back.
But in May 1430, Joan was captured by the enemy Burgundians and handed over to the English, who saw her as a threat. The English put Joan on trial for heresy and witchcraft in a court headed by hostile clerics at Rouen. Found guilty, Joan was sentenced to burn at the stake as a relapsed heretic. On the morning of May 30, 1431, she was led out to the town square, clutching a wooden cross an English soldier had made for her out of some scrap wood. As the flames consumed her, she cried out "Jesus!" Her ashes were scattered in the Seine River.[^1]
The Making of a Saint
Joan‘s story does not end with her execution, however. In 1456, a posthumous retrial ordered by Pope Callixtus III overturned the original verdict, declaring Joan an innocent martyr. Beatified in 1909, Joan was canonized as a saint by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.[^2]
"Joan‘s shining personality, her pure and generous heart, her heroism in misfortune and in the face of death have attracted the admiration of all centuries and all nations," the Pope declared in his homily at her canonization Mass. "Joan of Arc is like a radiant apparition of all that is best and most noble in the soul of France."[^3]
Celebrated as one of the nine secondary patron saints of France, Joan has become an icon, inspiring countless works of art, literature, music and film over the centuries. Today, her feast day on May 30 is a national holiday in France.
The Memorial Cross and Church of St. Joan of Arc
For nearly five centuries after Joan of Arc‘s execution, the site of her martyrdom in Rouen was marked only by a small garden and plaque. But in the aftermath of World War I, a movement arose to create a more substantial memorial befitting a saint and national heroine.
The project took decades to come to fruition, delayed by World War II, during which Rouen suffered heavy damage from Allied bombing raids. In the 1970s, archaeological excavations confirmed the exact spot where Joan had been burned, and construction on a new memorial finally began.
Completed in 1979, the Church of St. Joan of Arc (Eglise Jeanne d‘Arc) is a strikingly modern structure, its angular concrete walls designed to evoke the flames of Joan‘s execution pyre. Above the church, the Joan of Arc Memorial Cross soars 65 feet (20 meters) into the sky. The simple iron cross is in the shape of the Cross of Lorraine, a patriotic symbol of French resistance during World War II.
Inside the light-filled sanctuary, twenty-three panels of stained glass from the 16th century, salvaged from a nearby church destroyed in the war, depict the life of Jesus and other biblical themes. The church‘s minimalist design keeps the focus on the beautiful windows and the cross visible through gaps between the "flame" walls.[^4]
A Place of Pilgrimage and Reflection
Today, the Place du Vieux-Marché (Old Marketplace) where Joan of Arc took her last breath attracts visitors of all kinds — the faithful and the curious, tourists and pilgrims alike. Each year on the anniversary of Joan‘s death, a solemn Mass and commemoration ceremony is held at the church, often attended by French dignitaries.
In 2019, the most recent year for which figures are available, over 110,000 people visited the church, according to the Rouen tourism office.[^5] For many, it is a moving experience to stand on the very spot where the young Joan of Arc, condemned as a heretic in her own time, died for her faith and her country.
"I feel a great sense of humility and awe here," said Marie-Thérèse, a 72-year-old pilgrim from Paris visiting the memorial on a rainy day in October. "Joan was just a simple peasant girl, but she had such courage and conviction. She knew she would die, but she never wavered. It‘s an inspiration to us all."
The enduring power of Joan of Arc‘s story lies in her youth, her unshakeable faith, and her ultimate vindication, noted Christophe, a local historian who gives tours of the memorial site. "She was just a teenager from a small village, with no education or background, but she changed the course of history," he said. "She reminds us that anyone can make a difference, if they believe in their cause."
Nearly six centuries after her death, the martyrdom of Joan of Arc still resonates, drawing people to remember and reflect at the place where she paid the ultimate price for her convictions. The striking memorial cross and modernist church in Rouen ensure that her legacy will endure for generations to come, an eternal flame of faith and French pride.
[^2]: "St. Joan of Arc." Catholic Online, https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=295. Accessed 14 May 2023.
[^3]: Benedict XV. "Homily at the Canonization of Joan of Arc." 16 May 1920. https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xv/en/homilies/1920/documents/hf_ben-xv_hom_19200516_giovanna-arco.html
[^4]: "Eglise Jeanne d‘Arc." Rouen Tourist Office, https://www.rouentourisme.com/eglise-jeanne-darc/. Accessed 14 May 2023.
[^5]: "Tourism Statistics 2019." Rouen Métropole, July 2020, p. 8. https://www.metropole-rouen-normandie.fr/sites/default/files/publication/2020-07/Chiffres%20tourisme%202019.pdf
