Former President Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in New York City on May 30, the feast day of St. Joan of Arc, the patron saint of prisoners, revered by Catholics and praised by patriots around the world as a strong pillar in the face of political persecution.
On Thursday evening, a Manhattan jury returned a guilty verdict on all 34 felony charges brought against Trump by District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), who has ties to billionaire George Soros, including that he falsified business records.
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11. Each of the 34 felony counts carries a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine and up to four years in prison.
Jeanne d’Arc, Be respected A martyr of the Catholic Church and canonized as a saint in 1920, as a teenager she had a vision of Saints Catherine, Michael and Margaret that told her it was her destiny to save war-torn and enemy-occupied France, lead her people to victory over Britain, and crown the Dauphin of France as king.
In April 1429, at the age of 17, Joan accomplished the first part of this mission, leading French forces to victory against the English forces that were besieging the French city of Orléans, an achievement for which she became known as the “Maid of Orléans.”
Triumphal Entry of Joan of Arc into the City of Orléans (Jean-Jacques Scherer, oil on canvas, 1887)
Victories soon followed as Joan’s forces recaptured all of France that had fallen to the English king’s forces during the Hundred Years’ War. Joan’s troops made their way to Reims, the historical city where French kings were crowned. There, in July 1429, Joan led the Dauphin to Reims Cathedral, where he was crowned as King Charles VII.
But her political fortunes soon changed. Joan insisted on the complete liberation of her country from the English, but the powerful at the French court refused. She was captured by the enemy in 1430 while fighting to liberate the city of Compiègne. She was then ransomed and sold to the English, who assembled a corrupt jury of churchmen loyal to the English king. They tried Joan on charges of witchcraft and heresy in January 1431.
She endured horrific persecution in prison by her opponents, including having her hands and feet chained and being denied sleep because she lived in constant fear of being raped by the guards.
Despite this treatment, Joan’s responses during her trial were remarkable for their intelligence, courage, and piety. The illiterate peasant teenager consistently Outwitted Her learned Judges.
But the plan was set: Joan’s enemies convinced her of her guilt. On May 30, 1431, she was burned at the stake as a heretic. To the end, Joan maintained her innocence and her faith in Jesus, whose name she uttered for the last time. Just before her death, she predicted that the country would be freed of all Englishmen, and that the corrupt judges who had convicted her would be brought to justice. This happened exactly as she predicted.
In 1453, the English army was defeated in France. King Charles VII of France, at the request of Joan’s mother and the middle-class merchants of Orléans, who never forgot Joan’s courage in liberating their besieged city, petitioned the Vatican to investigate the fraudulent trial that had convicted Joan. The Pope ordered a thorough investigation. Hundreds of people were questioned to discover the truth about Joan’s character. After several years of exhaustive investigation, which covered the whole of France and included nobles, clergy, and peasants, Pope Calixtus III overturned Joan’s conviction of heresy in 1456 and blamed the corrupt judges for their dishonesty.
Joan is considered the patron saint of prisoners, as well as of France and soldiers. Throughout the ages, she has been seen as a hero for true patriots who loved their country.
“With Joan of Arc, love of country was not just a feeling, it was a passion. She was a genius of patriotism. She embodied it, made it concrete, made it physical, tangible and tangible,” said the great American novelist and humorist Mark Twain. I have written In his book Personal Memories of Joan of Arc.
Perhaps with Joan of Arc’s story of political persecution and eventual acquittal in mind, Bishop Robert Barron posted a tweet shortly after the Trump trial verdict was announced imploring Joan of Arc to “pray for us.”
Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us. pic.twitter.com/Ye5wN6eU9z
— Bishop Robert Barron (@BishopBarron) May 30, 2024
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