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In today’s world children exchange small Valentine cards at school in celebration of Valentine’s Day, and friends sometimes send cards in appreciation of their friendship on that day. It is a day for expressing love. But the main emphasis of Valentine’s Day seems to be romantic love. How did we get from a day to recognize a saint to a day of romanticism? I would love to be able to say, “Well, here’s how it happened.” Unfortunately, it seems that in matters of ancient history, things are seldom that clear.

I could find no books about St. Valentine, other than some based on legend. I recently heard someone say that a legend is something you can’t prove and you can’t disprove. I decided I would resort to consulting Wikipedia. I will summarize what I found there, as I studied the subject in November of 2016. You will notice some details that are identical, some that are similar, and some that conflict.

“Valentinus” was missing on a list of Roman martyrs made for a calendar, similar to an almanac, in 354 A.D. However, Valentinus was listed among martyrs in the Martyrology of Jerome, thought to have been compiled between 460 A.D. and 544 A.D. February 14th was established as “The Feast of St. Valentine” by Pope Gelasius I in 496 A.D. Valentine’s name was included among those “. . .whose acts are known only to God.”

[For new Christians, the definition of “saint” may be confusing. The word comes from the Latin “sancti,” meaning “holy ones.” When the Bible speaks of saints, it is referring to any believer, whether in Heaven or on Earth. According to Wikipedia information on “canonization,” the Catholic church declares people to be saints after their deaths. It is done by the Vatican in “a long process that requires extensive proof that the person . . . lived and died in such an exemplary and holy way that he or she is worthy to be recognized as a saint.” However, in the early history of the Catholic church (St. Valentine’s time), people could be declared saints solely on the basis of being a martyr.]

The Catholic Encyclopedia and other biographical sources mention three different saints by the name of Valentine in relation to February 14th. The first was a Roman priest buried along the Via Flaminia, an ancient road leading from Rome on the Adriatic Sea. The second was the bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) who was also buried along the Via Flaminia, reportedly a different distance from the city of Rome than the Roman priest. It is considered a possibility that accounts of these two Valentines refer to the same person.

An official biography by the Diocese of Terni indicates that Bishop Valentine was born in Interamna and that he lived there and was imprisoned and tortured in Rome while visiting there on February 14th of 273 A.D. He was hastily buried at a cemetery nearby, but his disciples took his body home a few nights after that.

The third St. Valentine connected to February 14th was a saint who suffered on that day, along with a number of others, in the Roman province of Africa. Nothing else is known about him.

A common biography calls Valentine the former bishop of Terni, Narnia, and Amelia, which are towns in central Italy. This Valentine was under house arrest by Judge Asterius. Valentinus discussed the validity of Jesus with the judge. The judge’s adopted daughter was blind. Asterius said he would do anything Valentine requested if he succeeded in bringing back the girl’s sight. When Valentine laid his hands on her eyes, her vision was restored. Valentine requested that the judges’ idols be destroyed and that the judge fast for 3 days and be baptized. The judge freed all the Christians under his jurisdiction and had all the family members and servants in his household baptized. According to the biography, this Valentine was later arrested for proselytizing and was sent to emperor Claudius Gothicus. Claudius took a liking to him. However, when Valentine tried to convince Claudius to convert to Christianity, Claudius told Valentine to renounce his faith or be executed. Valentine was executed outside the Flaminian gate February 14th of 269 A.D.

One brief legend of St. Valentine is found in a collection of biographies compiled by the archbishop of Genoa, probably around 1260 A.D., called The Golden Legend. It says that St. Valentine was executed by emperor Claudius in 280 A.D. for refusal to denounce Christ. It said that Valentine restored sight and hearing to the jailer’s daughter before being beheaded.

The Nuremburg Chronicle, an illustrated paraphrase of the Bible with world history that took place after Biblical history, was printed in 1493 A.D. It says that Valentine was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius Gothicus. Helping Christians was a criminal act under Claudius. The writing further states that Valentine helped persecuted Christians and performed marriages for some of them. When caught, he was arrested and imprisoned. Although Claudius took a liking to him, when Valentine tried to convince Claudius to become a Christian, Claudius gave Valentine a death sentence. When beating him failed to end his life, he was killed by beheading outside the Flaminian Gate.

There are many other legends of St. Valentine lacking basis in fact. One legend says that during Claudius’ reign there was a shortage of soldiers. It says Valentine was a priest who secretly married couples, against the edict of the emperor. Once married, the husbands would not be required to go to war.

Another legend claims that Valentine refused to make sacrifices to pagan gods and was therefore imprisoned. Valentine testified of his faith while in prison. The jailer’s daughter was a victim of blindness, and her eyes were healed through Valentine’s prayers. He left her a note before he was executed and signed it “Your Valentine.”

There was a festival for the Roman god Lupercus on February 15th, the anniversary of his temple. Although some disagree, some have said that perhaps the Feast of St. Valentine was instituted , for a martyr about whom little was known, in order to displace the pagan festival.

There is a poem by Chaucer called “The Parliament of Birds,” about birds choosing their mates. It is believed that the poem was ready for St. Valentine’s Day in 1383 A.D. Perhaps the belief in the pairing of birds before spring contributed to the romance of St. Valentine’s Day.

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Now you have been able to see for yourself how the details of the biographies and legends mentioned in the Wikipedia article line up. Possibly the legend (or fact?) that Valentine secretly married couples or Chaucer’s poem about the pairing of birds, or both, caused Valentine’s Day to become a day for romance. Whether or not that is the case, it does seem certain that the man commemorated on Valentine’s Day was a man who gave his life for his faith.

Celebrating our friendships and romantic relationships on Valentine’s Day is a good thing. But considering its original purpose, in addition to that we can use Valentine’s Day as a time to share God’s love with others, as St. Valentine did. We can share His love by sharing the Gospel or by opening doors through words or acts of kindness motivated by genuine love. Valentine’s Day is also a good reminder to pray for the many, many people around the world who are being persecuted for their faith, as St. Valentine was. In some countries, the government tries to protect the persecuted. In other countries, the government sponsors the persecution. Many times children are involved. You can see real-life, modern-day stories of the faith of the persecuted by visiting the website for The Voice of the Martyrs.

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