Who was Saint Valentine?

With the word "Saint" in his name, we have a vague idea that Valentine's Day has something to do with the church. But in reality it is not a major festival or celebration day in the worship year. Some denominations officially list the day on calendars, but often there is little fanfare or acknowledgment during worship services.

The church's lack of enthusiasm partially stems from how little we actually know about this Roman man named Valentinius. In fact, we don't know if there was only one Valentine, or two, or seven. It's clear that someone by that name was buried north of Rome after being martyred on February 14 in the 3rd century A.D. But after that the details get kind of sketchy.

The stories about the several men who were named Valentine are quite remarkable. For instance, one account describes that Valentine was talking about Jesus to a Roman judge. This man remained unconvinced, but he challenged the priest to heal his daughter of blindness. He said that he would follow Christ if the girl was cured. Valentine proceeded to pray for the judge's daughter and her sight was restored. The new convert asked the priest to baptize him, along with all his family and servants. Valentine kept up his evangelistic ways, attempting to convert the emperor himself. Alas, Claudius Caesar did not succumb to these efforts and instead had the priest beaten and beheaded on February 14, 269.

Several of the accounts about "Valentine" involve marriage. At least one story describes how he supposedly married young couples in order to prevent the grooms from having to go to war. This is probably how his name and martyrdom day got connected with romantic love. Some historians claim that these romantic stories were invented by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century. In any case, our modern practices of sending gifts such as cards, flowers, and chocolates only started in England during the 18th-century. If you are on the receiving end today, enjoy your presents and try not to feel too badly about how things ended for Valentinius...

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