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Helena, St c.255-330AD
Roman empress

She was the wife of the Emperor Constantius Chlorus and mother of Constantine I, the Great. Traditionally she came from Bithynia, the daughter of an innkeeper. For political reasons Constantius divorced her (292), but when Constantine was declared emperor by his army in York in 306, he made her dowager empress. In 312, when toleration was extended to Christianity, she was baptized. According to tradition, she visited Jerusalem (326), discovered Christ's cross, and founded the basilicas on the Mount of Olives and at Bethlehem. Her feast day is 18 August (21 May in the East).