Helena Augusta

Who they were

Helena, of humble birth, became the wife of Constantius Chlorus and the mother of Constantine the Great, born in 274; Constantius later put her aside for political reasons, but her son stayed loyal to her. When Constantine became emperor he gave her the title of Augusta.

Under his influence she became a Christian, and Eusebius says she was so devout one would think she had followed Christ from childhood. In her old age, after 324, she went to Palestine and built churches on its holy places. She died about 330, aged about eighty, with her son beside her.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: she has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.

Why that counted as sanctity

An empress who spent her last years honouring the holy places of Christ.

Connected on this site

• Constantine the Great Saint Child
  “AD 246/248 – 330), also known as Helena of Constantinople and in Christianity as Saint Helena, was a Greek Augusta of the Roman Empire and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great as well as a Canonized saint in both Catholic and Orthodox Churches for her pivotal role in the spread of Christianity.” — Wikipedia
• Macarius of Jerusalem Saint
  “About 325 he accompanied Helena Augusta, the mother of Constantine I in her search at Jerusalem for relics of the Passion of Jesus, including the cross on which Jesus of Nazareth was thought to have been crucified.” — Wikipedia