Saint Helena
Mother of Emperor Constantine and pilgrim to the Holy Land
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Royalty
- Life
- ~250 – ~330
- Era
- 4th century
- Feast
- 18 August
- Countries
- Türkiye, Italy
Life story
Helena was born around 250 into a modest family; by tradition at Drepanum in Bithynia, Asia Minor, though her birthplace is not firmly established. She became the wife, or partner, of the army officer Constantius Chlorus and bore Constantine, later called the Great. Around 293, when Constantius was raised to the rank of junior emperor and had to marry into the aristocracy, she was set aside.
Her fortunes changed when her son was proclaimed emperor in 306. Constantine brought her to court and gave her the title Augusta, with access to imperial funds. She was a Christian, and according to the historian Eusebius she became devout after her son embraced the faith.
Around 326 to 328, though elderly, she travelled to the Near East. Eusebius records that she supported the building of churches at Bethlehem and on the Mount of Olives and gave help to the poor and to soldiers along the way. The story that she found the True Cross in Jerusalem is a tradition that appears in the late fourth century and cannot be treated as documented history.
She died around 330. Her remains were laid in Rome, in a mausoleum near the Via Labicana. Her feast is 18 August. Her son built a church over the traditional site of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and she was later regarded as a model of a Christian woman in power. Her sarcophagus is now in the Vatican Museums. In the Eastern Churches she is celebrated together with Constantine.
Works and witness
- Given the title Augusta by her son, the emperor Constantine
- Pilgrimage to the Holy Land around 326–328, according to Eusebius
- Supported church building at Bethlehem and on the Mount of Olives
- The finding of the True Cross is a later tradition
Saints from the same country
References
- Eusebius, Life of Constantine
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.