Burned by the Roman Catholic Church

Saint Joan of Arc mural (1886-90) at the Panthéon by Jules Eugene Lenepveu

BURNED BY THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Today is the memorial in the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Joan of Arc.

Saint Joan of Arc’s story is remarkable, unique, and supremely ironic. I cannot think of any other Roman Catholic saint whose story in all important respects recapitulates that of Saint Joan. She was judged a relapsed heretic by an ecclesiastical court and for this canonical crime condemned to be burned at the stake, a penalty that at the time would have been carried out by the lawful civil authority, in this case, English belligerents in France. Although the trial was marked by legal and other irregularities—how could it not be so?—it was regarded as legally valid, so that it is indeed correct to say that she was burned by the Roman Catholic Church. Otherwise, a rehabilitation or nullification trial would not have been judged necessary. See “The Condemnation and Rehabilitation Trials of Joan of Arc” by Jane Marie Pinzino:

https://faculty.smu.edu/bwheeler/ijas/pinzino.html

“Upon the reconquest of Normandy in 1449 by Charles VII, Joan's supporters rallied. Popular outcry demanded an investigation of her trial. Charles himself had every reason to justify Joan, for the validity of his kingship was at stake. Joan had escorted him to be anointed at the cathedral at Reims after her victory at Orléans and he owed his crown to her. If Joan were a heretic, what did that make him? The archives in Rouen were opened and the papers of the condemnation trial delivered to the king's counselor Bishop Guillaume Bouillé for a preliminary investigation. So began the rehabilitation process that was conducted in the years 1450-57 and culminated in the official decision to nullify the condemnation.”

The same church that burned the saint also canonized her, by the formal declaration of Pope Benedict XV on May 16, 1920.