“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)
Valentine was a Roman priest born c. 226 A.D. and was said to have been martyred c. 270 A.D., on February 14th. He is regarded a saint by virtue of his martyrdom, for the Roman Church had no formal canonization process until the 10th Century A.D.
The history of Valentine is very sketchy to say the least. The following is from the Lives of the Saints (1959):
St. Valentine, a Roman priest, together with St. Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs who suffered during the reign of Emperor Claudius II in the 3rd Century.1
Other accounts of his life state that he would secretly perform marriages for soldiers so they would be deferred from military service. The emperor believed married soldiers would not fight as well as single men. For this he was placed under arrest and during this time the judge, Asterius, tested Valentine’s faith by asking him to heal his adopted daughter’s blindness. Valentine succeeded and found favor with Asterius and converted him and his household.
He later was arrested again for evangelizing and sent to the Emperor Claudius II. Again he found favor with the Emperor until he tried to persuade Claudius to embrace Christianity. Claudius commanded that Valentine renounce his faith, when he refused, Claudius ordered that he be beaten with clubs and then was beheaded.
Legend has it that just prior to his death, he wrote to the girl who he had restored her sight and signed it “from your Valentine.” However, there is actually no historical evidence to this legend. But what may have arisen from this was the institution of February 14th as the feast of St. Valentine in 495 A.D. by Pope Gelasius I. The Pope’s strategy was to suppress the ancient Roman festival, Lupercalia, a pagan celebration of love and fertility honoring the goddess Juno Februata. The highlight of the festivities included the pairing of boys with girls by a lottery—the drawing of names in honor of the goddess. The Lives of the Saints account describes the Pope's tactic:
To abolish this heathen practice the names of saints were substituted on billets [notes] drawn upon this day. The custom has nothing to do with St. Valentine, except that the feast precedes February 15th, the day on which the goddess Februata Juno was honored in this manner.2
Apparently Pope Gelasius’ scheme took root over the centuries and transformed a pagan fertility festival for Juno Februata into merely a day of expressing love for beloved ones.
In 1382, the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, wrote a poem for the first anniversary of King Richard II and his wife Anne. Titled “Parliament of Fowls,” it paid homage to the annual event of birds choosing their mates. The opening lines state:
"For this was on Saint Valentine's DayWhen every bird comes there to choose his match.”
After much research, it was concluded by Jack Oruch, that there is no suggestion in literature between Valentine and romance prior to Chaucer, and that Chaucer is most likely "the original mythmaker” of the modern correlation of romance with Valentine’s Day.3
So now we have a holiday of children, passing heart decorated cards to one another with the wishes of "I'm Yours" and “Be My Valentine.” And adults exchanging candy, flowers, gifts and sharing romantic settings.
But this seems far from the original intent of commemorating St. Valentine. And maybe the Roman Church came to realize that hearts, cards and flowers have nothing to do with what little is known of Valentine, the martyr. And even today most do not even know who he was or why the day was even established. For in 1969 the Roman Church removed St. Valentine from its calendar of feast days. Since then, February 14th has been known throughout our culture as simply “Valentine’s Day”, minus the "St." Referring now to the Valentine cards and not to the saint for whom it was originally attributed.
St. Valentine may not have had an awe inspiring life as St. Patrick or St. Francis of Assisi, yet what is known of Valentine is that he was a staunch advocate for the Christian faith and encouraged others who were about to be martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ. It would have been better if the virtuous love which Valentine had for his Savior and for those he comforted in the 3rd Century A.D. had been emphasized as the reason for honoring him on February 14th.
On A Personal Note
St. Valentine’s Day has always been a special day for me—it just so happens my birthday falls on St. Valentine's Day every year! My mother spoiled me by making a heart shaped cake and serving White House Cherry ice cream—a tradition that my wife has carried on to this day.
It was also the birthday of my godfather and great uncle, Valentine Betancourt (1913-1981). He lived in Mobile, AL, but I would see him frequently in the summertime when he traveled north for his business of procuring Christmas trees. In the late 1950's, in preparation for the Catholic rite of Confirmation, we were instructed to claim a saint’s name as our patron, and of course, I chose Valentine.
Source Material
- Butler, Alban (1903). The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints, New York, NY: Kenedy, pp. 413-414.
- Hoever, Hugo [Ed.] (1959). Lives of the Saints, New York, NY: Catholic Book Publishing, p. 75.
- https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/St._Valentine [Retrieved February 9, 2023]
- https://www.history.com/news/6-surprising-facts-about-st-valentine [Retrieved February 6, 2023]
- https://catholicism.org/saint-valentine-269.html [Retrieved February 6, 2023]
- https://www.livesofthesaints.com/saint-valentine/ [Retrieved February 6, 2023
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day#Folk_traditions [Retrieved February 8, 2023]
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Valentine [Retrieved February 8, 2023]
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valentines-Day [Retrieved February 8, 2023]
- https://www.answers.com/Q/When_was_Saint_Valentine_canonized [Retrieved February 8, 2023]
- https://literarysum.com/the-parliament-of-fowls-a-brief-overview-by-geoffrey-chaucer/ [Retrieved February 4, 2025]
St. Of Epilepsy. Pray for my son.
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