St. Joan of Arc Prayer for Courage and Strength

St. Joan of Arc (about 1412–1431), the peasant girl who led the armies of France at seventeen and was burned at the stake at nineteen, is the patron saint of France, of soldiers and of all who need courage. Condemned by a politically driven church court and later declared innocent by the Church, she is also a patron of those who are misunderstood or falsely accused. Below are prayers to St. Joan of Arc for courage, for soldiers, for young people discerning God’s call and for France, her famous answers at her trial, Scripture and the story of her short life.

A prayer to St. Joan of Arc for courage

Written for this page:

St. Joan of Arc, you were young, poor and unlearned,
yet you trusted God’s call and faced armies, prison and fire without fear.
Give me your courage.
When I am afraid, remind me that God is with me;
when I am weak, lend me your strength;
when I must stand alone for what is right, stand beside me.
Obtain for me the grace I ask: (name your intention). Amen.

A prayer for soldiers

St. Joan of Arc, you led soldiers into battle
and called them to confession and prayer.
Protect our men and women in uniform (especially name).
Keep them brave, honorable and close to God,
and bring them home safely to those who love them. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page. See also the St. Sebastian prayer and the St. Michael prayer.

A prayer for those misunderstood or falsely accused

St. Joan, you were mocked, betrayed and condemned unjustly,
yet you forgave and kept your eyes on Jesus to the end.
Pray for all who are falsely accused, slandered or misunderstood (especially name).
Let the truth come to light,
and give them patience, peace and trust in God’s justice. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page.

A prayer for young people discerning God’s call

St. Joan, you heard God’s call when you were only a girl
and answered with your whole life.
Pray for young people searching for their path.
Help them to listen for God’s voice,
to seek wise counsel and to follow his will with courage. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page. See the prayers of the faithful for vocations.

A prayer for France

St. Joan of Arc, patron of France,
pray for the people of your country.
Renew their faith, heal their divisions,
and make France once more a land of saints. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page.

Her words at her trial

At her trial in Rouen in 1431, the judges tried to trap Joan with a question no one could safely answer: did she know that she was in God’s grace? If she said yes, she would be presumptuous; if no, she would admit guilt. She replied, in a translation made for this page from the French record of the trial:

“If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God keep me there.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes this answer as a model of humble trust in God’s grace (CCC 2005). It also quotes her reply about the Church: “About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they’re just one thing, and we shouldn’t complicate the matter” (CCC 795).

Her answer breathes the trust of the Psalm:

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?
Whilst the wicked draw near against me, to eat my flesh. My enemies that trouble me, have themselves been weakened, and have fallen.
If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident.

St. Paul’s words fit her whole story:

But the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong.
And the base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen, and things that are not, that he might bring to nought things that are:
That no flesh should glory in his sight.

The life of St. Joan of Arc

Joan was born around 1412 in Domrémy, a village in northeastern France, to Jacques d’Arc and Isabelle Romée, peasant farmers. France was then exhausted by the Hundred Years’ War: the English and their Burgundian allies held much of the north, and the heir to the throne, Charles, had not been crowned.

At about thirteen Joan began to hear voices, which she identified as St. Michael, St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Margaret of Antioch. They told her to live a good life, and later that she must go to the aid of the king. In 1429, aged about seventeen, she persuaded a local commander to send her to Charles at Chinon. After being examined by theologians at Poitiers, she was given armor and a place with the army. Carrying a banner with the names Jhesus Maria, she helped to lift the siege of Orléans in May 1429, and on July 17, 1429, she stood beside Charles VII at his coronation in Reims Cathedral.

In May 1430 she was captured at Compiègne by the Burgundians, who sold her to the English. She was tried for heresy at Rouen by a church court presided over by Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais, a supporter of the English. Alone and without counsel, the nineteen-year-old answered her learned judges with faith and wit. She was condemned and, on May 30, 1431, burned at the stake in the Old Market Square of Rouen, holding a cross and calling on the name of Jesus.

In 1456 a retrial authorized by Pope Callixtus III annulled the verdict and declared her innocent. She was beatified by Pope St. Pius X in 1909 and canonized by Pope Benedict XV on May 16, 1920. In 1922 Pope Pius XI named her a secondary patron of France.

Feast day and patronage

Feast day: May 30. A novena can run from May 21 to 29.
Patron of: France, soldiers, those who are ridiculed for their faith, the falsely accused, and young people.
Symbols: armor, a sword, and a banner with the names of Jesus and Mary.

Frequently asked questions

Why is St. Joan of Arc a saint?

Because of her heroic faith, purity and courage, and her fidelity to God to the point of death. The Church recognized that she died as a faithful Christian, unjustly condemned.

What is St. Joan of Arc the patron saint of?

France, soldiers, people ridiculed for their faith and those who are falsely accused.

Was St. Joan of Arc condemned by the Church?

She was condemned by a church court at Rouen that was controlled by the English and their allies. In 1456 a new trial authorized by the Pope declared that verdict null, and in 1920 she was canonized.

When is St. Joan of Arc’s feast day?

May 30, the anniversary of her death in 1431.

More prayers to the saints

Texts and sources

Joan’s answer about grace: the record of her trial of condemnation (session of February 24, 1431), translated for this page.
Scripture: Psalm 26:1–3 (27:1–3 in modern Bibles); 1 Corinthians 1:27–29, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
The prayers were written for this page.