Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed The Maid of Orléans (French: ''Jeanne d'Arc'',ca. 1412 – 30 May 1431) is considered a national heroine of France and a Catholic saint.

 A peasantgirl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the coronation of Charles VII. She was captured by the Burgundians, sold to the English, tried by an ecclesiastical court, and burned at the stake when she was 19 years old.

Twenty-five years after the execution, Pope Callixtus IIIexamined the trial, pronounced her innocent and declared her a martyr.^[3] Joan of Arc was beatifiedin 1909 and canonizedin 1920.^[2] She is – along with St. Denis, St. Martin of Tours, St. Louis IX, and St. Theresa of Lisieux– one of the patron saintsof France.

Joan asserted that she had visions from God that instructed her to recover her homeland from Englishdomination late in the Hundred Years' War. The uncrowned King Charles VII sent her to the siege of Orléansas part of a relief mission. She gained prominence when she overcame the dismissive attitude of veteran commanders and lifted the siege in only nine days. Several more swift victories led to Charles VII's coronation at Reimsand settled the disputed succession to the throne.