St. Valentine (February 14th)

Of the various Saints and Feast Days commemorated during this week:

February 10th -- Saint Scholastica, Virgin 

February 11th -- Our Lady of Lourdes

February 14th -- Saints Cyril, Monk and Methodius, Bishop 

February 14th -- St. Valentine, Priest or Bishop and Martyr


I’ve decided to write this week about St. Valentine.


St. Valentine was a Christian martyr, a clergyman, though it’s unclear if he was merely a priest or a bishop, who according to the Butler’s Lives of the Saints, was “beheaded on February 14th around the year 270.”  His day was celebrated as a simple feast day on the Roman Calendar until 1955, after which it was removed, probably because there are several lives of St. Valentine in existence and except for the basic information given above the lives were contradictory.


St. Valentine’s Day is of course associated with romantic love.  However, the connection here goes to pre-Christian, that is Greco-Roman Pagan times, as the annual Feast of Lupercalia – in honor of the Gods Pan and Juno (the greco-roman Gods of Love, Marriage and Fertility – was celebrated the days of Feb 13-15.


St. Valentine happened to be beheaded on the February 14th, and so, the popular romantic connections of the pre-Christian festivity came transferred to him.


Somewhat similarly, New Years Eve is popularly known across Central Europe as “St. Silvester’s Day” (as the memorial of St. Silvester falls on Dec. 31st).  In Austria, Bavaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, people still ask “What are you doing for St. Silvester’s?” meaning “What are you doing for New Year’s Eve?”


In a similar way, rarely do people strive to recall St. Valentine’s unfortunate martyrdom on Valentine’s Day as they’re scurrying to buy something or do something nice for their romantic sweetheart.


Over the centuries to this day, the Catholic Church has generally used the occasion of this day to bless married and engaged couples.  


In any case, Happy Valentine’s Day and St. Valentine, pray for us! 



Caption: Picture of St. Valentine from littleways.com

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