St. Valentine (c. 270) was an early Christian priest and martyr who remains famous as the patron saint of love, happy marriages, and soon-to-be married couples. Legend says that when a Roman emperor forbade his soldiers to marry—fearing that married soldiers would be unwilling to risk death and leave their wives widows—Valentine married couples in secret. His soft spot for lovers has never been forgotten.
St. Valentine of Rome was a priest who lived in Rome during the reign of Emperor Claudius II. Little is known of his life with certainty, except that he ministered to Christians who were persecuted and imprisoned for their faith, and died a martyr.
One account has it that the emperor banned all marriages and engagements in Rome, believing this was the reason Roman men were unwilling to serve in the army. Valentine defied this unjust decree and continued to perform marriages for lovers in secret.
He was arrested, and while in prison he restored sight to his jailer’s blind daughter, causing the jailer and his entire extended household, forty-six people in total, to immediately convert to Christianity. Upon hearing this, Claudius ordered Valentine’s execution.
St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended, and signed it “From Your Valentine.” He was beheaded on February 14th and so the Church made the day of his entrance into heaven as a martyr the day we celebrate his life and legacy as the Feast of St. Valentine, or Valentine’s Day. His remains can still be found today, buried along the Via Flaminia in Rome.
St. Valentine is the patron of many causes including beekeepers, betrothed and engaged couples, lovers, love, happy marriages, and young people.
