Where in the world is St Joan of Arc: 6 places to find her

Unlike many beloved saints whose tombs we can visit and venerate, St Joan of Arc has no resting place on earth. After they burned Joan the stake at age 19, her executioners threw her ashes into the Seine, trying to make her disappear forever. And yet even without a tomb or relics to anchor a pilgrimage, Jeanne d'Arc remains palpable in some surprising places. If she is a special friend to you, here’s where you can truly encounter St Joan of Arc.

1. Domrémy-la-Pucelle, France 

Jeanne’s story began in this tiny village in the Vosges region. Here, you can walk through the humble stone house where Jeanne was born and see the garden where she first heard the voices of St Michael, St Catherine, and St Margaret. Just up the hill is the Basilique du Bois-Chenu, a stunning 19th-century church built where Jeanne tended her father's sheep and received heavenly messages. 

2. Orléans, France

About an hour from Paris, Orléans marks the place of Joan’s great triumph. Here, she broke the English siege of Orléans in 1429—the moment that confirmed her mission and changed the course of history. Her presence lingers. You can visit the house where she stayed, the cathedral where she worshiped, and the small chapel where she sought Our Lady's miraculous intercession. Elsewhere in town, you can contemplate Jeanne's breathtaking equestrian statue and gaze over the river that she and her troops crossed to victory. 

Orléans also houses one of Jeanne's favorite devotional chapels. Before she was a saint, she did exactly what we do: pray at favorite spiritual places. The Église Notre-Dame-des-Miracles was half-destroyed in World War II, but still remaining is the 12th-century side chapel housing an ancient statue of Our Lady known for miraculous interventions. Jeanne loved coming to this chapel to pray, as she did before and after the lifting of the siege. 

• Related: A day trip from Paris to Orleans, plus five things to love

2. Paris, France

By now you know that Paris holds countless pilgrimage-worthy sites, including two connected to Jeanne. Near the Gare du Nord station, not too far from Montmartre, the Church of Saint-Denys de la Chapelle is the only church in Paris visited by Jeanne. She prayed here before launching her unsuccessful campaign to retake Paris in 1429. Saint-Denys remains one of the oldest churches in Paris, quiet and largely overlooked by tourists.

On the other hand, the wildly famous Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral was the site of Jeanne's posthumous “rehabilitation” trial in 1456. Her mother, Isabelle Romée, tirelessly advocated for the proceedings that overturned her wrongful heresy conviction and declared her a holy innocent 25 years after Jeanne’s death. When you stand inside Notre-Dame, you’re in the place where Jeanne was finally vindicated.

3. Rouen, France

On May 30, 1431, Jeanne d'Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen’s Place du Vieux-Marché, falsely convicted of heresy by a court of pro-English clerics. The modern Eglise Sainte-Jeanne d’Arc was built on the site of her martyrdom, its dramatic architecture meant to evoke both a flame and an upturned ship. A cross and small garden mark the precise spot where the pyre was. Nearby, the Historial Jeanne d'Arc museum occupies the former archbishop's palace where her conviction trial took place. Le Donjon is the remaining tower from the original castle where Jeanne was imprisoned. In the graveyard of the Abbaye de Saint-Ouen, Jeanne made her coerced abjuration. Rouen's glorious Notre-Dame Cathedral houses a chapel with stunning stained glass depicting her life. 

4. New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans claimed Jeanne d'Arc as her patron early in her history and has nurtured that relationship ever since. Start at the Place de France near the French Market. Inside this small park, you’ll find a golden equestrian statue of the Maid of Orléans. The statue was a gift from the people of Orléans to their namesake city. My favorite element of this statue is the look on her face: determined, focused, and so very young. The small surrounding park features plaques with coats of arms from towns and cities connected to Jeanne, including Orléans, Rouen, and Reims. (Fun: This statue looks like a twin of another located across from the Louvre in Paris). If you’re in New Orleans on January 6, Jeanne’s birthday, don’t miss the gorgeous, tableaux-style walking parade presented by the Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc in the French Quarter. On her feast day, May 30, the krewe gathers again for vespers and flowers at her statue. Throughout the city, you’ll find countless statues of Jeanne. 

• Related: My favorite parade in New Orleans

5. St Joan of Arc Chapel, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

A Jesuit university campus in Milwaukee is probably not where you’d expect to find a medieval French chapel, yet here it is: a 15th-century Gothic structure, dismantled stone by stone in Lyon, shipped across the Atlantic, reassembled on Long Island, and eventually transported to Marquette's campus. Set into the wall behind the altar is a flat stone that, according to tradition, Jeanne knelt on and kissed in a final prayer to Our Lady before riding toward an impossible battle. Ever since, the stone has been noticeably cooler to the touch than every stone around it. Measured and tested over the years, the stone runs three to five degrees colder with no explanation. You can touch the stone and pray there. 

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