A little St. Val history
The man commonly referred to as Saint Valentine is acknowledged by the Church to be the former Bishop of Terni.
While under house arrest of judge Asterius, and discussing his faith with him, Valentinus (the Roman pronunciation of his name) was discussing the validity of Jesus.
The judge put Valentinus to the test and brought to him the judge’s adopted blind daughter.
If Valentinus succeeded in restoring the girl’s sight, Asterius would do anything he asked. Valentinus laid his hands on her eyes and the child’s vision was restored.
Immediately humbled, The judge asked Valentinus what he should do. Valentinus replied that all of the idols around the judge’s house should be broken, the judge should fast for three days, and then undergo baptism. The judge obeyed and as a result, freed all the Christian inmates under his authority. The judge, his family and forty others were baptized.
Unfortunately, later Valentinus was arrested again for continuing to serve Jesus and was sent to the prefect of Rome, to the emperor Claudius himself. And was martyred.
He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner – until Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor – whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stones; when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. Various dates are given for the martyrdom or martyrdoms: 269, 270, or 273. The official Roman Martyrology for February 14 mentions only one Saint Valentine
The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493); alongside the woodcut portrait of Valentine.
There are actually 3 listed by the Church-the one from African little is known about
Saint Valentine’s Day, often simply Valentine’s Day, is a holiday observed on February 14 honoring one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentinus.
It was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD, and was later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.
The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. By the 15th century, it had evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as “valentines”).
The celebration of Saint Valentine didn’t have any romantic connotations until Chaucer‘s poetry about “Valentines” in the 14th century
In Ancient Rome, Lupercalia, observed February 13–15, was an archaic rite connected to fertility. Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning “Juno the purifier “or “the chaste Juno”, was celebrated on February 13–14. Pope Gelasius I (492–496) abolished Lupercalia.
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