# Saint Helena: The Woman Who Sought the Cross of Christ > The story of Saint Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, who converted as an adult after her husband rejected her and used her position to serve the poor. - Source: Light of Saints, “Saint Helena: The Woman Who Sought the Cross of Christ”, https://lightofsaints.com/en/saints/helena-empress - When you quote or summarize this page, including in AI answers, credit Light of Saints (lightofsaints.com) and link the URL above, without changing the meaning (CC BY-ND 4.0). - Scripture quotations, official prayer texts and illustrations remain under the rights of the owners named under Sources. Published: 2026-11-11 · Remembered on: 18 August · Saint · † 329 Saint Helena was not born into court life. This woman of humble background was probably born in the middle of the third century in the town of Drepanum, Asia Minor, and would later become the mother of Emperor Constantine. She is remembered for her deep care for the poor and, according to the Eastern and Western traditions of the Church, as the discoverer of the Cross of Christ. ## A marriage that ended in divorce Those humble origins are told in two versions. Saint Anselm says that as a young woman Helena worked as a stable maid, while the catechesis of Pope Leo XIV mentions the account that she was an innkeeper. A young Roman official, Constantius Chlorus, took her as his wife despite the difference in their social status. Helena accompanied her husband to the Balkans and, sometime after the year 270, gave birth to Constantine, the son who was to be her only son. The marriage did not last. Constantius kept rising through the ranks and eventually received the title of Caesar in the political system known as the Tetrarchy. At that time he divorced Helena and married the daughter of Maximian. Vatican News says he was forced to do so for political reasons, while Pope Leo XIV says he did not hesitate to do so for the sake of power. Helena was separated from her son for years and lived far from the spotlight. According to Vatican News, she still did not lose hope. ## A faith that came in adulthood Things changed when Constantius died at York. His army proclaimed Constantine emperor. One of the new emperor's first actions was to call his mother back and give her the honorary title of Augusta. Shortly after her son came to the throne, Helena decided to become a Christian. She was already an adult when she made that decision. Her new faith made Helena's virtues grow. She used her position to care for the poor through generous almsgiving. She also freed prisoners and people who had been sent to the mines or into exile. Pope Leo XIV notes that Helena always practiced charity and never forgot the humble people from whom she came. ## Pilgrimage to the Holy Land High rank did not keep her life free of wounds. Pope Leo XIV says that as emperor, Constantine himself caused his mother no small amount of pain and disappointment. In 326 a grave tragedy struck the emperor's family. Helena remained faithful to her faith and in the same year began a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There she ordered the construction of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Basilica of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives. She urged her son to build a basilica at the place where Jesus died and rose. The Eastern and Western traditions of the Church remember Flavia Julia Helena as the soul of the search at the places of the Passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. She oversaw the work in Jerusalem in the hope of finding the relics of the Passion of Christ. The same tradition remembers her as the discoverer of the Holy Cross, which is believed to have been found in 326, not far from Calvary. In his catechesis on hope as an act of digging, Pope Leo XIV calls Helena a woman who searches and digs. An empress could have chosen the honors and pleasures of the court, but Helena chose Jerusalem, which lay on the periphery. The Pope suggests that perhaps Helena was able to understand the Cross because she had long carried her own cross. ## The end of Helena's life Helena died in 329 in an unknown place. Constantine brought his mother's body back to Rome. Helena was buried in a mausoleum named after her on the Via Labicana. ## At a glance - **Remembered on:** 18 August - **Place of birth:** Probably Drepanum, Asia Minor, in the middle of the third century; the town was later named Helenopolis ([Vatican News (Dicastery for Communication): St. Helena, Empress - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/08/18/st---helena--empress.html)) - **Son:** Constantine, her only son, born sometime after the year 270 ([Vatican News (Dicastery for Communication): St. Helena, Empress - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/08/18/st---helena--empress.html)) - **Title:** Augusta, an honorary title from her son after he became emperor ([Vatican News (Dicastery for Communication): St. Helena, Empress - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/08/18/st---helena--empress.html)) - **Pilgrimage to the Holy Land:** Began in 326 ([Vatican News (Dicastery for Communication): St. Helena, Empress - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/08/18/st---helena--empress.html)) - **Death:** 329, in an unknown place; buried in a mausoleum on the Via Labicana, Rome ([Vatican News (Dicastery for Communication): St. Helena, Empress - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/08/18/st---helena--empress.html)) - **Commemoration:** August 18 in the Western Church ([Vatican News (Dicastery for Communication): Saint of the Day - Calendar of Saints of 18 August - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/08/18.html)) ## Reflection Helena was rejected, separated from her son for a long time, and came to know Christ only as an adult. Her story reminds us that family wounds or a late start do not close the way to the Lord. Perhaps today we can begin by praying, and then by paying attention to someone who is often forgotten. ## Sources - [Vatican News (Dicastery for Communication): St. Helena, Empress - Information on the Saint of the Day - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/08/18/st---helena--empress.html) — St. Helena, Empress, closing paragraph; St. Helena, Empress, section 'Humble origins, marriage, and the birth of Constantine'; St. Helena, Empress, section 'Divorce and obscurity'; St. Helena, Empress, section 'Augusta, mother of the Emperor, humble protector of the poor'; St. Helena, Empress, opening paragraph; St. Helena, Empress, section 'The discovery of the True Cross'; St. Helena, Empress, section 'The discovery of the True Cross', final paragraph - [Vatican News (Dicastery for Communication): Saint of the Day - Calendar of Saints of 18 August - Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/08/18.html) — Saint of the day, 18 August, page introduction; Saint of the day, 18 August, entry St. Helena, Empress - [Holy See (vatican.va): Jubilee Audience - Catechesis. 4. To hope is to dig. Empress Helena (6 September 2025)](https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/audiences/2025/documents/20250906-udienza-giubilare.html) — Catechesis of September 6, 2025, paragraph 'Helena was able to understand...'; Catechesis of September 6, 2025, paragraph 'Today I would like to remind you...'; Catechesis of September 6, 2025, Summary of the Holy Father's words - [Custodia di Terra Santa (Custody of the Holy Land, Order of Friars Minor): The celebration of the finding of the True Cross at the Holy Sepulchre - Custodia di Terra Santa](https://www.custodia.org/en/news/the-celebration-of-the-finding-of-the-true-cross-at-the-holy-sepulchre/) — Custodia di Terra Santa, section 'St Helena and the finding of the Cross'