St Helena.
250-330 ~ Mother of Emperor Constantine ~ Helena was born in Bithynia (now called Helenopolis). Her father was thought to be an innkeeper and though she came from a humble background, she met and married a Roman general called Constantius Chlorus and they had a son whom they named, Constantine.
Helena’s husband was promoted to a high rank in the army and solely for political reasons; he divorced Helena and married the Emperor Maximian’s stepdaughter, Theodora. He was then crowned emperor. Constantius died, while Helena and Constantine were with him on a visit to York, England. Young Constantine automatically became the next emperor and the troops stationed with him in York declared him their new leader.
Constantine treated his mother with honour and respect and when she converted to Christianity at the age of sixty-three, he did also. She encouraged her Christian religion to the people, built churches and gave help to the poor. She travelled on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land when she was quite old and she helped establish churches there.
It is said Helena found the true cross of Jesus on a hillside on Calvary and she built two basilicas, one on the Mount of Olives and one in Bethlehem. Helena travelled all over Palestine and became known for her compassion and consideration to the Roman troops and her kindness to both the poor and to prisoners.
She died in Nicomedia (which is now part of Turkey) and is buried in Constantinople.