Saint Helena
Feast day: August 18
Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, pilgrim to the Holy Land who built great churches there (18/08).
Who is she?
Saint Helena was the mother of Constantine the Great, the Roman emperor who gave Christians freedom to practice their faith. She came from a poor and humble background but became an empress, and she used that position to serve God and the poor.
Life story
Helena was born around the year 250, probably in Drepanum, in Asia Minor (now in Turkey), into a poor family. Saint Ambrose says that she once worked at an inn. She married Constantius, a Roman officer, and had a son, Constantine. Later, Constantius left her to marry another wife of higher rank. She suffered a great deal of hurt, but her son always loved and respected his mother.
When Constantine became emperor, he brought his mother to live near him and later honored her with the title of empress. After her son gave Christians freedom to practice their faith, Helena came to believe in Christ. From then on, she lived her faith with great devotion: she went to Mass among ordinary people, dressed simply, and generously helped the poor, prisoners and churches.
When she was nearly eighty, she set out on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where Jesus lived, died and rose again. She had a church built in Bethlehem, where the Lord was born, and a church on the Mount of Olives, where the Lord ascended into heaven.
According to a tradition told from the end of the fourth century, in Jerusalem she had people dig near Calvary and found the true Cross of Jesus. From then on, Christians everywhere grew in devotion to the Cross.
She died around the year 330, at about eighty years old, with her son by her side.
Why is she a saint?
Saint Helena did not let her high position make her proud. She was humble, devout, generous to the poor, and loved Jesus crucified. Even in her old age, she bravely set out to find the places where the Lord had walked.
A lesson for you
- Honor the Cross: make the Sign of the Cross carefully, and look at the crucifix when you pray.
- Even when you are praised or have lots of things, stay humble and share with classmates who are poor.
- Love your grandparents and parents, just as Emperor Constantine always respected his mother.
Identifying marks
- A large wooden cross: according to tradition, she found the true Cross of Jesus in Jerusalem.
- The crown and purple cloak of an empress mother: she was the emperor’s mother, honored with the title of empress (Augusta).
- An old woman with white hair: she made her pilgrimage to the Holy Land when she was nearly eighty.
- Three nails (*): according to tradition, she also found the nails that fastened the Lord to the cross.
(*) Only in some pictures and statues.
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