St. Valentine (of Rome), a kind-hearted Roman priest, is the patron saint of love, young people, and happy marriages, (and some also say bee-keepers, epilepsy, plague, and travellers). Read More
St. Valentine was martyred on 14th February 269 during the reign Claudius 11 and was buried in Flaminia to the north of Rome.
He was imprisoned for helping Christians being persecuted by Claudius, and for secretly marrying Christian couples so that husbands would not have to go to war. While in prison he healed the jailer’s blind daughter. It is said that on the day of his martyrdom he left the girl a note signed, “Your Valentine”. The jailer was then converted to Christianity along with members his family, in total 46 people.
You can read more about
- St. Valentine here https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=159
- And about the relic of St. Valentine in Whitefriar Street Church, Dublin here http://www.whitefriarstreetchurch.ie/index.php/the-church/shrines/saint-valentine
Prayer to St Valentine
Saint Valentine,
true servant who shed his blood
in defence of the sacraments and faith in Jesus Christ,
intercede for us today, we pray.
Gain for us the strength to be steadfast like you
in witnessing to the true faith to the end of our days,
and help us never to lose hope in the Lord
who is always near us.
Intercede for those men and women who are preparing for marriage:
help them to know one another and the true meaning
of the sacramental bond they are preparing to enter.
Intercede for those who are joined together
in the sacrament of marriage,
that they may never give up when trials come their way
but may remain faithful to each other,
and to the Lord who blessed their union.
May your love for the Lord be an inspiration for
our love for each other, for the love between husband and wife,
and for the love and charity we extend to all whom we meet.
Amen. (Whitefriar St. Church)