“Above all, Saint Michael told me that I must be a good child, and that God would help me.He taught me to behave rightly and go often to church…. He told me the pitiful state of the Kingdom of France. And he told me that I must go to succor the King of France.”

St. Joan  Own Words, p. 6.

This May I wanted to create a celebration plan for my confirmation saint’s day: St. Joan of Arc, May 30th. This year it’s the day before Pentecost, so it may be a bit hectic to try and squeeze it in, but this will be here just in case! 

St. Joan of Arc was called by God, through visions of St. Michael, St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Margaret of Antioch to perform extraordinary actions in an extraordinary time. As war raged between England and France, St. Joan was asked to don the soldier’s armor and lead an army into battle. For an unlearned, young 15th century girl this task was even more unthinkable for someone like her than it would be for any ordinary pre-teen girl today. Her faith was strong, and her obedience led to the restoration of the King to his throne in France. This king later betrayed the champion of his kingship handing her over to be tried and accused as a heretic. St. Joan was infamously burned at the stake, giving up her life in service of God and to her country.

Story

Many stories have been written and published about this incredible saint. I’m listing a few here for you to browse. I tried to offer a range in age-appropriateness and length. You can alway visit Loyola Press to find their Saints Stories for All Ages and their short biography of St. Joan. 

Picture Books

Joan of Arc: The Lily Maid by Margaret Hodges. Suggested age 4-8

Joan of Arc by Dianne Stanley. Suggested ages 6-8

The Story of Joan of Arc by Maurice Boutet deMonvel. Suggested age 9-13. 

Compilations

Saints Chronicles 1

This series of graphic novel style saint stories is a favorite of my elementary aged children. The illustrations bring the stories to life in an epic sort of way. St. Joan’s story is in volume one.

Catholic Saints for Children (Bouetiez) (Magnificat)

This sweet compilation of saints stories is appropriate for preschool and up. St. Joan’s story is included.

Stories of the Saints: Bold and Inspiring Tales of Adventure, Grace and Courage 

This relatively new saint story book is beautifully illustrated and tells compelling tales. Each story is about three pages long. Good for Elementary up.

Prayer

Dear St. Joan of Arc, whose obedience and trust in you held strong even in the midst of scoffers, doubters and persecutors, pray for us that we may hear God’s call in our own lives and have the courage to live that call boldly. Help us to overcome our fears so that we may live out what we were born to accomplish. Amen.

Activity

Here’s a lovely coloring page from Super Coloring Pages with an image of St. Joan mounted on her horse with her banner.

 

http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/joan-of-arc?version=print

 

Treat

I first became acquainted with St. Joan of Arc through my Mama, a lady who knows what it means to miss New Orleans. St. Joan, the Maid of Orleans, is the patroness of the city my Mama called home her whole childhood. As a girl, she’d go to her neighbor’s house to spend the day making candy and baking treats. Miss Josie made the best pralines around and my Mama got to learn from her. “It’s all in the technique,” Miss Josie would say.

 Miss Josie didn’t use a candy thermometer, she’d let the mixture tell her when it was time to add the pecans, when it was time to pull off the heat and when it was time to drop onto wax paper so that smooth, creamy clusters of rich, nutty candy would harden just right. New Orleans style pralines are a quintessential taste of the Crescent City.

I’ve included my Mama’s adaptation of Miss Josie’s recipe here. If you’re not up for making pralines, a Quiche Lorraine could do the trick! St. Joan hails from that region of France. Enjoying the quiche could be a lovely tie in to her biography and story. Make or buy one pre-made, or source any other French treat you can. Croissants, palmiers, madeleines, tartes, or anything that sounds French and you can find in your grocery store or neighborhood bakery would do the trick. The point is to enjoy something, anything, that marks the day. Pull out the popsicles, even, as long as it’s joyful and faithful. 

Abee’s New Orleans Pecan Pralines

Makes 72 candies

Ingredients

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 pound brown sugar (1 cup packed)

3/4 c milk, half and half or cream (i used cream)

splash of corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups pecans, halved or chopped

Method

1. Prepare and measure all ingredients first. Lay parchment paper on countertop. For a full batch you’ll need 4 cookie sheet size pieces.
2. In a large pot (if halving use a 3-4 qt pot), melt butter over medium-low heat. Add in both sugars, milk, and corn syrup. Stir continuously over low/medium-low until sugar is dissolved and mixture starts “talking to you” (bubbling a bit). 
3. Add in pecans, continue stirring over medium-low until mixture reaches 235-245F (soft ball stage). It should be really active, get a bit harder to stir, and a drop, when dropped into a cup of ice water, should form into a ball but still be squashable.
4. Immediately take off heat, add the vanilla, and stir it like mad until the mixture thickens up. 
5. Drop mixture by the spoonful onto prepared parchment. Let cool for 3-5 minutes and flip over to allow bottoms to cool.
6. Enjoy!

 

If you celebrate St. Joan’s feast day please share your experience here in the comments or on social media with #holydaysathom or #hdahstjoan. Happy feasting!

Blessed be God in His angels and in his saints!