Twenty-five years after Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, her mother successfully sued the Church to overturn the conviction.

The rehabilitation trial of Joan of Arc, known as the 'Procès en nullité de la condamnation,' began in 1455 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Isabelle Romée, then in her 70s, traveled to the cathedral to deliver a formal petition to the papal legates. She was supported by Joan’s surviving brothers, Jean and Pierre, and a massive legal team led by Chief Inquisitor Jean Bréhal.The investigation was incredibly thorough for the 15th century, spanning across locations like Domrémy, Rouen, and Orléans. Over seven months, the court collected testimonies from 115 witnesses, including childhood friends, soldiers who fought alongside her, and even some of the original trial officials. These witnesses testified to Joan's deep piety and the lack of evidence for the witchcraft and heresy charges brought by the pro-English court in 1431.On July 7, 1456, the papal commission delivered its final verdict, declaring the original trial 'full of corruption, cozenage, calumny, fraud, and malice.' The court ordered the formal destruction of the 1431 trial records, which were ceremoniously torn up in public squares. This legal reversal was a rare historical event where a posthumous trial successfully overturned a verdict from the Inquisition.The trial's findings were crucial for the French monarchy, as they removed the stain of heresy from the woman who helped crown King Charles VII. Without this reversal, the legitimacy of the French throne would have remained under a religious cloud. Isabelle Romée lived to see the final judgment, passing away in 1458, just two years after her daughter's honor was officially restored.