St. Valentine's Story

Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.
Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

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Special St Valentine's blessing for Dublin lovers

The Carmelite church in Whitefriar Street, Dublin, is today offering couples the opportunity to be blessed before the remains of St Valentine, which lie in a shrine in its church (pictured).

On St Valentine's Day, the Reliquary containing the saint's remains is moved from beneath the side-altar and placed before the high altar in the church. At the 11.00 am and 3.15 pm Masses there are special sermons and also a short ceremony for the Blessing of Rings.

Prior of the Carmelite monastery, Fr Chris Crowley, told catholicireland.net that wedding, engagement and rings of "special sentimental value" are all blessed during the service.

The patron saint of lovers, ended up in Dublin through a strange twist of fate. In 1835 an Irish Carmelite by the name of John Spratt, so enthralled the people of Rome with his fine preaching, that he was offered many gifts, including the remains of St Valentine from Pope Gregory XVI.

On November 10, 1836, the Reliquary containing the remains arrived in Dublin and were brought in solemn procession to Whitefriar Street. With the death of Fr Spratt interest in the relics died away and they were put in storage, to emerge again during a major renovation to the church in the 1950s. At that time an altar and shrine were built to house them and to allow people to venerate the saint.

St Valentine came from Terni, a town an hour from Rome, which at that time was known as Interamna. According to legend and Church history, St Valentine, who was Bishop of Interamna, secretly married young couples against the wishes of the Emperor Aurelius who had decided that married men made poor soldiers and banned young men from marrying. Bishop Valentine however, believed that marriage was part of God's plan and purpose for the world.

Thinking the emperor cruel and unjust he invited young lovers to come to him in secret, and he joined them in the sacrament of matrimony.

A well known legend tells that he used to make the present of a flower from his own garden to young visitors. Two of these young people fell in love; and were so happy that many other couples followed their example, to such a point that the Saint was induced to dedicate one day of the year to a general benediction of the state of matrimony.

When the emperor learned of this "friend of lovers," he ordered the bishop be brought to the palace. Impressed with the young bishop's dignity and conviction, Aurelius tried to convert him to the pagan Roman gods and save him from otherwise certain execution. Valentine refused to renounce Christianity.

In February 273, Valentine was clubbed, stoned and then beheaded on the orders of the Roman prefect Placidus Furius.

Many years later, in 1644, the citizens of Terni proclaimed him both the patron saint of their city and of lovers.

According to Fr Crowley, St Valentine still has a message for the people of today. "He teaches us courage. He was courageous, as were the young people who came to him at great cost to themselves."

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Special blessing for Valentine lovers in Dublin tomorrow (catholicireland.net 13/2/05)

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