Joan of Arc was born on January 6, 1412. During Joan's childhood, the land of France was caught in the middle of the Hundred Year's War. Her hometown, Domremy, was placed partially between the forces of the English and the French. On occasion, Joan and her family had to flee from armies passing through her town.

Ever since a young age, Joan stood out among other boys and girls when it came to faith. She would never distract herself with things that she knew were not right and good in her heart, no matter what others might say. In one instance, Joan did not join in when fellow friends made offerings of flowers to fairies; instead she offered the same to the saints.

When Joan was 13 years old, she started hearing voices. The voices were of St. Michael and several angels that only urged her to attend church and pray often. Soon Joan heard the voices of St. Catherine and St. Margaret as well. After a year or so, these same voices sta

Throughout Joan's whole imprisonment and her trial, she surprised everyone by keeping faith, knowing that she would be freed spiritually. The voices comforted her every day, and she trusted in the goodness of God's plan for her. The voices assured her again and again that she would be freed by a great victory. At the trials, Joan would tell the judges over and over about her love for God, the Church and its teachings, but they still insisted that the voices were of the Devil. She even testified that she never killed a man, despite her reputation as a warrior. Her true colors of morality and deep faith showed even in instances like this.

From there on it seemed Joan would be successful...until the day she reached Reims and the King was coronated. Joan's triumph started declining due to the lack of monetary support from King Charles VII. Eventually, she was captured at Compiegne when she was left outside after a drawbridge was raised too carelessly. Joan was tried by an English inquisition court where she was found to be heretical for supposedly believing in something contrary to the ideas of the Church. This was the age in which the Church felt threatened by the increasing numbers of people who went against its authority or disagreed with its teachings. The English not only wanted to kill Joan but also wanted to discredit King Charles by having Joan condemned by the Church as a witch and a heretic. To obtain this goal, the English used the Church authorities they knew to be favorable of them. One of them was Bishop Cauchon.

When Joan was 16 years old, St. Michael told her more specifically to drive out the English and bring the king to be crowned. She was frightened upon hearing this but a sense of peace came over her when St. Michael told her, "God will help you." Because of Joan's trust in the voices, and ultimately in the faith of God, she left Domremy without telling her parents and succeeded in going to the king and convincing him of her mission. He supplied her with an army to raise the siege of Orleans, which was the first necessary step to r

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Approximate Word count = 1394
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)