The Saturday following the Ascension marks the annual celebration of Saint Joan of Arc in Rouen. Every year, the Archbishop of Rouen invites a guest preacher. The last Englishman to have been invited was Archbishop George Patrick Dwyer of Birmingham in 1967. This year, the Bishop of Plymouth, the Right Reverend Nicholas Hudson, was invited to preach.
Bishop Nicholas, both fully British and fully French, spoke of how English Catholics love and revere, the affectionally known, Saint Joan of Arc. As a former Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, he shared that Westminster Cathedral itself bears a large, prominent mosaic raised to the honour of Blessed Joan of Arc in 1910, ten years before her canonisation, and that many churches across England are dedicated to her honour.
Bishop Nicholas preached the morning homily at Mass in the church of Saint Joan which stands in the square where the nineteen-year-old was burned at the stake. Remarkably, the sanctuary was adorned with the 15th-century processional cross which Saint Joan asked to be held before her as she burnt. In his homily, Bishop Nicholas reflected on the words of Mark Twain, who called Saint Joan of Arc, “by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.” He drew on the words of the Psalmist and the Wisdom of Solomon to retell her story, recalling how she was “though young, found keen in judgment” and “in the sight of rulers, admired.” He reflected on how “the pro-English clerics who put her on trial must surely have been impressed by her courage” in telling them, “You say that you are my judge. Take care what you do, for in truth I am sent by God, and you put yourself in great danger.”
Bishop Nicholas spoke of how Saint Joan gave testimony to the teaching of Jesus – the call for any follower of his to deny himself, take up his cross and follow. “Every martyr,” he said, “knows what it means to take up their cross, and such was Saint Joan of Arc’s conviction of the Cross’s saving power that she asked to have a cross held before her as she submitted to the flames.” Everyone heard her cry “Jesus” as she took her final breath.
Mass was followed by a civic ceremony in the Square. After lunch, and to a full Cathedral, Bishop Nicholas preached the half-hour Panegyric – a speech in honour of Saint Joan. This is a wonderful testimony to her life and legacy. Bishop Nicholas recalls the words of the distinguished English historian Helen Castor, that “in the firmament of history Joan is a massive star” whose “light shines brighter than that of any other figure of her time and place.” Her story, he recalled, is “unique and at the same time universal in its reach – a recurring motif replayed in art, literature, music, and film.”
You can download the the Panegyric here.
Saint Joan, we ask you to stand alongside all who know themselves today to be victims of injustice.
Saint Joan, we ask you to pray for our troubled world; and most especially today for France and England that we might grow together in ever-deeper unity and witness together to the urgent need for peace across the world.
Saint Joan, we ask you to pray for each one of us here present today that, with your help and the help of all the saints of France and England, we might grow to be worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen
You can read the full press release here.
Photo: © Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk