Born around 247 AD, Saint Helena was the wife of the Roman Emperor. Her son, Constantine, received a miraculous vision before a battle and converted. Saint Helena followed her son’s example and also converted and became a devout Christian.
Saint Helena traveled to the Holy Land and built many churches there, including one in Bethlehem and another on the Mount of Olives. Saint Helena also discovered Jesus’s cross, when she had a pagan temple destroyed on the place of the crucifixion. Three crosses were discovered, so Saint Helena asked a dying woman to touch each one. The woman was miraculously healed after touching the true cross.
Saint Helena is the patron saint of new discoveries. She was not too proud to follow her son’s example when he converted to Christianity. Let us never be too proud to heed the good example of other people in our lives.