The feast day of St. Valentine is celebrated on Feb. 14. St. Valentine is an actual saint. His relics are claimed by three churches in Rome. What we know about him has been passed down orally, so it is considered part legend. St. Valentine is the patron saint of happy marriages and lovers because of his devotion to the Sacrament of Marriage.
St. Valentine was a Roman priest during the time of Emperor Claudias II, who persecuted the church. He actually prohibited the marriage of young people because he believed unmarried men were better soldiers. During the time of St. Valentine polygamy (multiple wives) was very common. St. Valentine encouraged couples to marry in the church in spite of the edict. He held the marriage ceremonies in secret.
Eventually Valentine was caught, imprisoned and tortured. One of his jailers had a daughter who was blind. After Valentine prayed with her, her sight was restored. This resulted in the jailer converting to the Christian faith. In 269 Valentine was sentenced to death .
The last words of St. Valentine were in a note to the girl he had healed signing it “from your Valentine”.
“Let your religion be less of a theory
and more of a love affair.”
Quote of G. K. Chesterton
February is the Month of the Passion of the Lord