St. Helena

St. Helena (c. 246/250 – c. 330) was of humble origin — an innkeeper's daughter, according to tradition — who became the wife or consort of the Roman officer Constantius Chlorus and the mother of the emperor Constantine the Great. Set aside when Constantius rose in rank, she was restored to the highest honor when her son became emperor and embraced Christianity, being given the title Augusta and great influence at court.

Converted to the faith, she devoted her wealth and her later years to works of piety and charity, especially in the Holy Land, where she is said to have made a pilgrimage in old age. She fostered the building of churches at the holy places, including the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church on the Mount of Olives, and long tradition credits her with the discovery of the True Cross of Christ at Jerusalem. Honored as a saint in both East and West, she is a patron of new discoveries and of archaeologists.