St. Valentine’s Day is seen by many of us, as a day of giving flowers, giving roses, and spending time with our loved ones, but did you know St. Valentine was a person and a religious holiday? The origin of St. Valentine and how many St. Valentines there are remains a mystery but we do know he existed. Archaeologists unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient Catholic Church dedicated to St. Valentine. Catholic.org’s Saints and Angels page gives a description on St. Valentine.
“Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who, with St. Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II. He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith in effectual, commended him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards, to be beheaded, which was executed on February 14, about the year 270.”
With the death of St. Valentine on Feb. 14th, the date was set by Pope Gelasius in the year 496 as a feast day. St. Valentine’s remains lie at the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland and are maintained by the Carmelite order. Pope Gregory XVI gave the remains to the church in 1835. An altar and shrine were built to venerate St. Valentine. On the feast day of St. Valentine, the church moves the remains to the main altar and is venerated at Mass that day. Visitors that consist of mainly couples visit year round.
We all knew that St. Valentine was the patron saint of lovers but Catholic.org says that he is also the patron saint of “affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travelers, and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses.”
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