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The man behind St. Valentine's Day
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St. Valentine of Teramo, bishop and martyr.
How did we get to chalky hearts, chocolate samplers, and roses from the martyrdom of St. Valentine? Honestly, I don't know, and I'm not really sure I'd want to explain if I could. I do know, however that St. Valentine was an early Christian martyr who is now one of the most well-known Catholic saints and has made the leap into popular culture beyond the Church.
The patron saint of young people, lovers, happy marriages, beekeepers, and greeting card manufacturers (really!), St. Valentine was a Roman priest and martyr "who after having cured and instructed many persons was beaten with clubs and beheaded" under the reign of Emperor Claudius around the year 269.
These details come to us from the Roman Martyrology which is an official compilation of the most basic info of most of the saints recognized by the Catholic Church. Organized by date, the Martyrology is usually recited by monks and nuns during daily prayers. Tradition holds that St. Valentine of Rome, as he is most correctly known, was killed on February 14.
Also, on this date, the Martyrology lists St. Valentine of Teramo, a bishop and martyr who was scourged, imprisoned, and beheaded because he would not recant his faith. It seems that these two individuals may be the same person, and the modern Martyrology only lists one St. Valentine for February 14. As a result of reforms following the Second Vatican Council, St. Valentine's Day, was in fact, dropped from the calendar, and now, he is simply on the list of saints approved for veneration.
While little is known about St. Valentine as a person, there are a handful of theories about his (or at least his day's) association with all things romantic. Some argue that the proximity of St. Valentine's Day to a traditional pagan fertility celebration made the saint an ideal candidate for christianizing a popular holiday. In certain regions of Europe, it is typical for birds to begin mating in mid-February, perhaps another reason St. Valentine's Day is associated with young love.
Another pious legend says that, as a priest of Rome, St. Valentine would perform clandestine marriages for young people because the practice had been outlawed by Emperor Claudius, who believed that unmarried men made the best soldiers. This defiance, the story goes, led to Valentine's eventual martyrdom.
It seems that St. Valentine's Day is unique in the fact it is a holiday the Church has tried to end while secular society can't seem to get enough of the romantic love fest. I honestly can't think of another time where this is the case. We're always clamoring to put the Christ or the Mass back in Christmas, and many could do without the Easter bunny and peeps. It's somewhat ironic that the Church has given up on St. Valentine so easily when our society needs his example and intercession the most.
In the U.S., nearly half of all marriages end in divorce and contraception within marriage is an increasingly common phenomenon. It seems to me that we could learn a thing or two from St. Valentine, who was willing to die for the institution of marriage.
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