Feast Day : August 18

Saint Helena

Catholic Saint

st.Helena-Empress,

mother of Constantine the Great

Patronage: converts; against divorce; empresses

Also known as: Helen of the Cross

Helena, a native of Turkey, married Constantius I Chlorus, a Roman general who reigned as junior emperor from 293 to 306. The marriage took place in 270, and a son, Constantine, was born soon thereafter. After his elevation to caesar, Constantius was required to divorce Helena, a woman of a lower class than he, and marry Theodora, the stepdaughter of co-emperor Maximian (r. 286–305). Son Constantine became a junior emperor upon the death of his father in 306. In 312, he won a major military victory over Maximian and became emperor. Helena was named empress. Helena converted to Christianity and was renowned for her charity and building of churches. She went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land by some accounts when she was nearly 80 years old in search of the holy cross. In excavations, three crosses were discovered, including one that seemed to be the “true cross.” Hence in art she is often shown holding a cross. Helena died probably in Nicomedia (in modern Turkey). Her sarcophagus is in the Vatican Museum.