The Patron Saint of Lovers

February is known as the Philippine Heart Month. On the other hand,throughout the Christian world, it is in which the feast of St. Valentine is being celebrated .With his ingenuity in solving lovers' problem,St. Valentine became the symbol of love.

Although St. Valentine has been neglected in the devotions of men,it is nevertheless one of the oldest names in the calendar of the Church.He was a bishop and martyr of the Church who was put to death in Rome for his faith during the persecution under Claudius II on February 14,270 A.D. It has the sanction of antiquity dating back to the call of the Apostles.

St. Valentine was canonized following his death as a martyr in 270 A.D. His relics are still very much around too at the St. Praxedes Church in Italy.He is honored and venerated by Catholics all over the world, not just as a "Patron Saint of  Lovers", but as a ceaseless worker of the Catholic Church who has been credited among others,of having converted thousands of heathens into the Christian fold.

St. Valentine was born in Lupercalia , Italy  and later became a Roman Catholic priest at a time when Rome was governed by a rabid enemy of the Christians _no less than the notorious Emperor Claudius   

II    (260-270) known as the self-styled high priest of pagan rituals and ceremonies,during which thousands of hapless Christians were offered as sacrifices. But even with such nemesis around that time,St. Valentine worked ceaselessly in behalf of the Church and was successful in converting thousands of Romans into Christianity.He had also a great "power to heal",in fact he was a gifted doctor of medicine and not just a faith healer besides being a priest. 

There was no problem so perplexing for which St. Valentine cannot find a solution, thereby bringing joy and gladness to the heart.He was also the originator of the "secret marriage" because he performed weddings of Roman soldiers secretly, since Emperor Claudius prohibited his soldiers to marry ,else they will not fight savagely to death in battles if they are thinking of their family, and would consequently lose the war.When the emperor learned about his activity of converting the Romans,he was arrested along with his relatives and thousands of his followers, thrown into prison, and were tortured.He was beheaded on February 14,2070 A.D..His remains still lie at St. Praxedes Church today.More than 400 hundred  years

had passed before the Church recognized his efforts of saintly life.Pope Julius I canonized him in 700 A.D. His feast has been observed since the 17th century.