St. Helen (also Helena, Elena, Hélène). Helen was
the Christian wife of Constantius Chlorus. On becoming Emperor of the Gauls
in 292 he repudiated her, but her son Constantine (306-337) became the
first Christian Emperor.
St. Helen was very enthusiastic about searching for relics of Christ.
She traveled to Palestine around 327, where she apparently discovered all
tree crosses of Golgotha as well as the nails used to crucify Christ. There
are varying explanations as to how she was able to differentiate the True
Cross from the other two. The Golden Legend states that Helen was informed
by a Jew called Judas; other explanations are that there were still the
inscription in three languages fixed on it, and besides after its discovery
the True Cross performed the numerous miracles.
Helen founded churches in Palestine and throughout the Empire and encouraged
the growth of Christianity throughout the Western world.
See: Cima da Conegliano. St.
Helena.
Paolo Veronese. St.
Helena. Vision of the Cross.
Recommended reading:
The
Book of Saints: The Lives of the Saints According to the Liturgical Calendar
by George Angelini, Victor Hoagland (Editor). Regina Press, Malhame &
Company, 1986.
365
Saints: Your Daily Guide to the Wisdom and Wonder of Their Lives
by Woodeene Koenig-Brick (Author). Harper SanFrancisco, 1995.
Helena
Augusta: The Mother of Constantine the Great and the Legend of Her Finding
of the True Cross by Jan Willem Drijvers. Brill Academic Publishers,
1997.