Hélie de Bourdeilles
Catholic cardinal
Feast: 5 July (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Hélie de Bourdeilles, son of a viscount, entered the Franciscans young and was made Bishop of Périgueux at twenty-four. He was held prisoner for years by the English for defending the Church's rights.
As Archbishop of Tours from 1468 and a cardinal from 1483 he kept to religious poverty, and was a close friend of St Francis of Paola. He wrote in defence of St Joan of Arc. He died on 5 July 1484.
The miracles
He is listed among the Blessed in the Franciscan Martyrology; the Catholic Encyclopedia does not describe a formal cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A poor friar-archbishop who defended the Church's freedom.
Connected on this site
- Joan of Arc Saint“He wrote in defence of St Joan of Arc.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Hélie de Bourdeilles
- Wikidata Q3144641 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Hélie de Bourdeilles (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.