Joan of Arc Burned Alive: History Today
The charges against Joan of Arc were brought about by scholarly religious experts in Rouen, France. They charged her with heresy and rejecting the authority of the church. They claimed she did this by listening to direct and divine messages from God instead of those from the church but Joan of Arc refused to compromise her beliefs.
On May 24, she was sentenced; Joan would be handed over to nonreligious authorities and to be executed. Fear overcame her and she retracted her statement of beliefs and her sentence was then changed to life in prison.
While in prison, Joan of Arc was ordered to dress like a woman and she complied but changed back into her male clothing just a few days later. When the judges asked her why she was wearing male clothing again, the answer she gave sealed her fate.
Joan told the judges that St. Catherine and St. Margaret were disappointed in her for going against her beliefs to satisfy the church. Joan of Arc was then classified as a relapsed heretic and ordered, on May 29, to be put to death. At the Place du Vieux-Marche in Rouen, her last request was to have a priest shout prayers and hold a crucifix for her to see as she died. On May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc was burned alive at the stake. Joan of Arc was sentenced to death for her beliefs and thirty years later, she was found to be not guilty. Joan was canonized (made a saint) by Pope Benedict XV in 1920 at St. Peter’s Basilica. Her legend now lives on as Saint Joan of Arc.
St. Joan of Arc, Pray For Us!
Posted by: Sweat | Tuesday, June 03, 2014 at 01:08 PM