St. Helen

Helen, mother of the Emperor Constantine, used high station as a means of prayer, mercy, and service. Converted late in life, she gave herself to Christian devotion with the fervor of someone who knew she had no time to waste. She attended the divine offices simply, dressed modestly, poured out alms upon the poor, and treated imperial wealth as something entrusted to her for Christ's needy members rather than as personal grandeur.

Her last years are especially linked to the holy places. After Constantine became master of the East, Helen went to Palestine to venerate the sites sanctified by the Lord's life and to support the church-building that followed the uncovering of Golgotha and the Holy Sepulchre. Her connection with the finding of the Holy Cross is honored with reverence, while later details are kept in due proportion. Old chroniclers disputed whether she came from Britain or elsewhere, but that uncertainty does not obscure the Christian woman herself. Even as empress and mother of the emperor, Helen is a widow intent on prayer, charity, and reverence, using greatness for service rather than self-exaltation.