The Maid of
Orleans.

Joan of Arc — Jeanne d'Arc in French — was born around 1412 in Domrémy, a village in northeastern France. At age 13, she began experiencing religious visions that she believed were divine messages commanding her to support Charles VII and help expel the English from France during the Hundred Years' War. At age 17, she persuaded the Dauphin to give her command of a military force, which she led to lift the siege of Orléans in 1429 — a turning point in the war. She was captured by English-allied Burgundians in 1430 and sold to the English, who tried her for heresy. She was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431, at age 19.

Pope Callixtus III declared her a martyr in 1456 and the Catholic Church canonized her in 1920. She is the patron saint of France and one of the most iconic figures in Western history. Her connection to New Orleans is rooted in the city's deep French cultural heritage — the city was founded by French colonists, and the French Quarter still bears the architectural character of its colonial origins. The City of Orléans gifted this gilded equestrian statue to New Orleans in 1958 as a symbol of the enduring bond between the two cities that share the name.

The statue stands on Decatur Street in the French Quarter, near the French Market and the Mississippi River — a highly visible location that reflects the importance of the French cultural identity to New Orleans. The gilded surface makes it one of the most striking public artworks in the city, particularly in the afternoon light.