In the late 1960s St. Valentine was removed from the Church calendar because so little is known about him and there may have been two, but what we do know is that one of them, or both, were martyrs. 

The first is Valentino, a priest in Rome whose ministry includes those imprisoned and condemned for their faith. 

Emperor Claudius summoned Valentino and ordered him to deny his faith. 

The Emperor liked him and was impressed by his courage, so he sent him to a nobleman named Asterius who he ordered to convert Valentino. However, when Artius’ daughter became sick and lost her sight, Valentino prayed over her and she was cured. This led to Aterius and his whole family converting to Christianity. When the Emperor heard this he had Valentino condemned and he was beheaded. 

The second Valentine was the Bishop of Terni. He was approached by a renowned philosopher named Crato who promised him half of his wealth if he would cure his son of a severe deformity. 

Bishop Valentine convinced Crato that the healing would come, not from the Bishop himself, but through faith. Crato asked to be converted and his son was healed, leading to the conversion of the rest of his family and many of their friends, one of whom was the son of the Roman Emperor, who had Valentine decapitated because of his son’s conversion. 

A Church was built and named for Valentine at Terni, and the Benedictines later spread the cult of Valentine’s Day to their monasteries in France and England. 

The tradition of Valentine being the patron Saint of lovers begins with Geoffrey Chaucer, according to whom birds begin pairing, on Valentine’s Day. 

St. Valentine, please pray for us.