A retrial officially overturned Joan of Arc’s condemnation in 1456.
The original ecclesiastical trial took place in Rouen in 1431, after Joan was captured by Burgundian forces and handed over to the English. The court condemned her for heresy, and she was executed on 30 May 1431. The proceedings were later widely challenged because of procedural irregularities and political pressure.
At the request of Joan’s family and supporters, Pope Calixtus III authorized a new investigation in 1455. The nullification trial examined testimony from witnesses who had known Joan, including people from her birthplace and members of the French military. In July 1456, the court declared the original judgment null and void and restored Joan’s good name.
This 1456 decision was not her canonization. Joan was beatified in 1909 and canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. The later retrial is commonly called the rehabilitation trial or nullification trial.