St. Valentine

St. Valentine is an early Roman martyr whose veneration is ancient and well established, though reliable detail about his life is scarce; the early records name one or more martyrs of this name honored on 14 February, most notably a priest of Rome and a bishop of Terni, who may in fact be one and the same. Tradition holds that he was put to death for the faith in the third century, about the year 269, under the Emperor Claudius, and was buried on the Flaminian Way.

The association of his feast with love and courtship arose only in the later Middle Ages, and a popular legend grew that he had secretly married Christian couples, or restored sight to a jailer's daughter, though these stories cannot be confirmed from early sources. Because of the uncertainty surrounding his history, his feast was removed from the universal calendar in 1969, yet he remains venerated as a true martyr and is popularly honored as a patron of lovers and engaged couples, celebrated on 14 February.