St. Helena
Died: 330
Empress mother of Constantine the Great. She was a native of Bithynia, who married the then Roman general Constantius I Chlorus about 270. Constantine was born soon after, and in 293, Constantius was made Caesar, or junior emperor. He divorced Helena to marry co Emperor Maximian’s stepdaughter. Constantine became emperor in 312 after the fateful victory at Milvian Bridge, and Helena was named Augusta, or empress. She converted to Christianity and performed many acts of charity, including building churches in Rome and in the Holy Land. On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Helena discovered the True Cross. She is believed to have died in Nicomedia. Her porphyry sarcophagus is in the Vatican Museum. Geoffrey of Monmouth, England, started the legend that Helena was the daughter of the king of Colchester, a tradition no longer upheld. In liturgical art Helena is depicted as an empress, holding a cross.
Previous Saint
< St. Helena
Next Saint
St. Helen >
Rate This Saint
Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All
Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested
1 - 20 of 46 Comments
Leave a Comment
Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.
Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.
This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.
We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.
We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.
Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample
Previous Saint
< St. Helena
Next Saint
St. Helen >
Find Saints
Catholic Online offers the largest searchable database of Catholic Saints on the internet.
| Browse Saints by Alphabet |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
| Patron Saints by Alphabet |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Videos
St. Francis of Assisi 78,543 views View Video
Padre Pio 47,043 views View Video
Black Saints Vol I 30,360 views View Video
Black Saints Vol II 26,966 views View Video
Most Popular
Editorial: Is the Scandal Ridden Obama Administration Becoming a House of Cards? Read More
There's the problem! Americans are out of touch with scientific consensus on climate change Read More
Did God make junk? Scientists say 98 percent of human genome is junk Read More
Sex In Uniform: Why the Increase in Sexual Assaults in the Military? Read More
Why Pope Francis Doesn't Give Communion Read More
Daily Readings
Reading 1, Acts 2:1-11
When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when ... Read More
Psalm, Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great you are! ... Read More
Gospel, John 20:19-23
In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the ... Read More
Reading 2, First Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13
Because of that, I want to make it quite clear to you that no ... Read More
Saint of the Day
St. Celestine
May 19: When the father of this Italian saint died, his good mother ... Read More
Latest Videos
May 19 - Homily: Pentecost & The Marian Civilization of Love View Video
May 19 - Homily: Heroic Cooperation with the Spirit View Video
Sanctify my Lowliness - 2 Pillars #30 View Video
May 18 - Homily: Friar Felix View Video
Meet Your Mother - Dr. Miravalle: Mcasts198 View Video
Marketplace
Who's Who in Heaven: Real Saints for Families in Plain English Read More
Baptism & Christening Gifts
Celebrate his or her Baptism with a gift to be treasured. Shop from ... Read More




















thanks
I'm using her name as my conformation name. I think its soooooo beautiful!
I have been looking for a saint that i admired like this for 2 hours and i finally found one!
castrox my conformation name is going to be that too so coooll
St Helena how ardent u were to locate the true cross. I salute u and please pray for me, an erring soul.
St. Helena, Please pray for us.
happy feast day St. Helena. thank you for helping in the spread of Christianity.
I've been searching for Saint Helena because my grandma's name was Helen so I wanted to use her name for confirmation as a sign of respect towards her. When I did look her up I was estatic she is such an interesting Saint!
i love the name helena...and im going to take it as my confirmation name!!!!!!!! bye!!!!!!!
i <3 the name it is going to be my conformation name
May I have more info on st.helena
st helena is my patron saint because my name is helena too :)
St. Helena, I've been blessed with many visits to Santa Crucia in Jerusaleme, the Church in Rome where the relics, nails, the cross beam of the holy cross of Jesus is honoured. Catholics visit this church which is one of the "sette chiesa" of Rome, i.e one of the seven Churches that Catholics visit. We honour you St. Helena, for the glory you brought to Christ in promoting and spreading Christianity in Rome after it had suffered several centuries of persecution. Pray for us who live in countries where Christians are a small minority, that our faith may grow even stronger on account of that. May we be witnesses to Christ. I also ask for your holy intercession of the complete healing of my beloved grandson. Free him from all afflictions. This I ask in Jesus name. Amen.
St. Helena i ask to pls help me with my husband. Too many mistakes have been done. I ask in the same of my children and me to help me in my need. Show me the light at the end of the tunnel.
My name is Angelo and I was born in the largest town of Malta Birkirkara.The patron saint of Birkirkara is St.Helen. The feast of the cross with the statue of St. Helen is held on the 3rd of May and that of St.Helen in August the 1st Sunday after the 18th which is her day of feast. Since St. Helen became an Empress her feast in this town is held in the morning as it is fitting for a queen.The statue which I can say is the most beautiful statue of all the statues in Malta is taken out of the Basilica of Birkirkara at 8.00am and a procession is held around the streets of the old part of Birkirkara up to 10.30am. After that High Mass in Honour of St.Helen is said at The Basilica. If you like to know more follow this link. www.bkara.com/sthelena.htm.
Regards to All who are reading my post.
Angelo
I have been praying to her for help with my marriage. Today I was worring a lot about my marriage, than this eve when I looked up at the TV, ST Helena church was on the news. WOW, I think she is telling me it will be ok!
Because of her search for the cross, Helen is the female patron saint of archaeologists. Due to my fascination with archaeology (and, if I stay with the career I currently want, she'll be my patron saint), I chose Helen for my Confirmation name. ;)
OMG I LOVEEE her name its's so cool!!!
helena is a very interesting saint. if you search 'helena of the true cross' on google, they have research on her on the brown uni website. it was very useful for my report on her.
My baby grand-daughter is named Helena, so I was very interested to read that she is indeed a saint and a very interesting one. When she is old enough to understand, I will explain the name to her. A Catholic grandma.