She was a teenage peasant girl who said she had been sent by God.
She crossed a country torn by war, gained the confidence of a king, helped lift the siege of Orléans, stood at the coronation of Charles VII—and, only a few years later, was condemned and burned at the stake.
But who was Joan of Arc?
Mystic? Soldier? Patriot? Heretic? Martyr? Saint?
In this new Chesterton Radio University study, we return to Joan through her extraordinary surviving trial testimony, the history of the Hundred Years’ War, her condemnation and later rehabilitation, and the Church that eventually canonized her.
We also explore something uniquely available in the Chesterton Radio archive: seven different classic-radio portrayals of Joan of Arc. Each generation seems to discover a different Joan. How closely do those portrayals resemble the young woman who emerges from the historical record?
And behind it all is a difficult question:
Who do you obey when the world says you are wrong?
Joan forces us to think seriously about conscience, authority, obedience, vocation, courage, faith—and how we distinguish genuine conviction from self-will.
This is not simply the story of a saint.
It is an encounter with one of the most remarkable lives in history.
Chesterton Radio University is sponsored by Chesterton Radio Subscribers. If you value great books, great lives, history, faith and classic radio, please help us continue this work:
And listen anytime to The Open Door, Chesterton Radio’s 24-hour live stream:
St. Joan of Arc - We Came This Way - NBC University Theater
St. Joan of Arc - Radio Drama Collection
Joan of Arc - Joan Lorring - Ronald Colman - Favorite Story
The Execution of Joan of Arc - You Are There
Joan of Arc - Ave Maria Hour
St. Joan of Arc - CBS is There - History as Live Radio News Reports
