From my previous article, I discussed the pagan ritual called Lupercalia before our modern-day celebration of Valentines which is very bloody & violent consisting of animal sacrifice & matchmaking. Now, let's dive deep into the story of Valentine.
Saint Valentine (also known as St. Valentine of Rome) is a 3rd Century priest. As I have mentioned before, there were disputes on Valentine's origin story so here's what I found out so far. As the former bishop of Terni, Narnia, and Amelia he was placed on house arrest by Judge Asterius, because the judge believed in their pagan gods, so he put Valentine and his faith to the test. Asterius presented her blind daughter to Valentine, his task was to restore her sight. He placed his hands onto her eyes and restored the young woman's vision. Valentine succeeds and the judge broke all the figures of their gods, fasted for 3 days, and was baptized along with his family, and his entire household. Judge Asterius freed all his Christian inmates.
Valentine was arrested again for converting people to Christianism, and secretly officiates marriages for Roman Christians, but was incarcerated first by Emperor Claudius II. Both acts were considered serious crimes, and according to other variations of his story:
The connection between the priest and emperor began to grow until Valentine tried to convince Claudius to Christianity. The emperor was enraged and sentenced the priest to death by beating him with clubs and beheaded, if he survives he'll need to renounce his faith in the pagan gods.
When he refused to renounce his faith to their pagan gods, he remained to Christianity and executed outside the Flaminian Gate on February 14, 269.
Lastly, he refused to renounce his faith in the pagan gods, he was imprisoned by the jailer's blind daughter named Julia. As they prayed together, her sight was restored as he left a note for her saying "From your Valentine" and was executed.
I know there are different variations of St. Valentine, but he has wide-ranging spiritual responsibilities. Aside from being the patron saint of Love, Young People, and Happy Marriages he's also the patron saint of beekeeping, epilepsy, fainting, traveling, and plague. The Catholic Church continues to recognize him as a saint in the Roman Martyrology, authorized and martyred by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496 to honor the Roman martyr every February 14.
Since he's also the patron saint of plague, with the current situation we are facing today and as I have mentioned many times I'm hoping that everything will be back to normal.
Sources:
Lead Image from https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=159
https://www.history.com/news/6-surprising-facts-about-st-valentine