Today is the feast of St Joan of Arc, kept on the anniversary of her execution by burning at the stake in the city of Rouen, in the year 1431. The second Sunday of May is kept as a national holiday in France in honor of her, called the “national holiday of Joan of Arc and of patriotism.” (The title isn’t any less awkward in French.) This date was chosen in reference to the liberation of Orléans on May 8, 1429, by troops under St Joan’s command; Orléans has its own annual St Joan festival, which runs from April 29-May 8. The city of Reims, where the French kings were traditionally crowned, has a festival on July 17, the anniversary of the coronation (also in 1429) of King Charles VII, which was made possible by the military defeat of the English in France, again, led by St Joan.
A friend of mine, Fr Jason Vidrine of the diocese of Lafayatte, Louisiana, was in Orléans at the end of April, and kindly agree to share these pictures of some of the events of the festival, and of the city’s cathedral. Part of the festival is held inside the cathedral...
