St. Valentine's Heart is in Ireland

Jan 22

St. Valentine is the patron saint of lovers, epileptics, and beekeepers.

He was a Christian priest in Rome at the time of Claudius II in the third century. Since Claudius was a bit of a warmonger and needed men for his army, he dealt with their reluctance by banning all marriages and engagements. Hurray for Valentine who kept romance alive by performing marriages in secret. As you can imagine, he became quite the local hero for lovers wishing to tie the knot.

St Valentine was betrayed and executed on 14th February. He was made a saint in the 13th century.

From your Valentine

The story goes that, just before his death, he wrote a farewell note to his jailor’s daughter (whose blindness he cured), signing it ‘From Your Valentine’.

In the early 1800s, the excavation of a catacomb near Rome revealed remains and other relics linked to St. Valentine. As was the custom, the remains of the saint’s body were distributed around the world. St Valentine’s skull is in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Rome. Other remains are in the Czech Republic, Scotland, England, and France.

Delightfully, Dublin has his heart!

This was a gift by Pope Gregory XVI, intended to provide a focus of veneration for the emerging Catholic faith in Ireland. So, St Valentine is an Irish saint – well, by adoption anyway! His remains are in the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street.

Every 14th February a special mass is held in the church for lovers wanting a special blessing on their relationships. Maybe not this year…so we need to find new ways of blessing our loving relationships.