February 14 is known as “St. Valentine’s Day” or “Valentine’s Day” and is celebrated all over the world, but little is known about the saint who is honored and his relationship with couples. According to the Catholic news agency ACI Prensa, it is possible that the saint who was taken to Rome for martyrdom was the same one who was beheaded on the Via Flaminia.
One version of St. Valentine’s story says that he lived during the reign of Emperor Claudius Gothicus as a Roman priest and was known for his holiness. The emperor tried unsuccessfully to convert him to his polytheistic religion and gave the task to a man named Asterius. However, instead of giving up on his faith, Valentinus succeeded in getting Asterius to convert to Christianity after curing his blind daughter. When the emperor learned of this, he had Valentinus executed on the Via Flaminia on February 14.
Another version says that Valentinus was bishop of the Italian city of Terni in the 4th century and prayed for a boy with physical deformities, curing him and converting his family to Christianity. This would have triggered his martyrdom on the Via Flaminia.
The tradition of St. Valentine as a saint of lovers comes from an old English text that states that in mid-February birds begin to reproduce, which coincides with the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere. Other stories passed down through oral tradition include Emperor Claudius II forbidding marriage celebrations and St. Valentine secretly marrying couples. In 496, Pope Gelasius decided that every February 14 should be celebrated as the anniversary of St. Valentine’s martyrdom, and his relics are found in different churches around the world.