St. Valentine’s Celtic Connection

Originally posted February 14, 2013.

Valentine’s Day – love is in the air and our thoughts turn to…. Ireland?  Well, maybe they should!

Saint Valentine in Rome

St Valentine lived in Rome in 269 A.D., and performed secret marriages after marriage was outlawed by a Roman Emporer. He was killed on February 14th for performing those marriages. That’s why he is now the patron saint of Love and Romance… but his connection to Ireland happened much later.

A Gift to Ireland

In 1836, relics that were exhumed from the catacombs of Saint Hippolytus near Rome, were identified with St. Valentine. A famed Irish preacher was in Rome about this time, Fr. John Spratt. (his full title was “Reverend Father Spratt, Master of Sacred Theology of the Order of Calced Carmelites of the convent of that Order at Dublin, in Ireland”) The remains of St Valentine were placed in a casket and donated by Pope Gregory XVI to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.

Saint Valentine in Ireland Today

Many tourists visit the saintly remains on St. Valentine’s Day, when the casket is carried in solemn procession to the high altar for a special Mass dedicated to young people and all those in love.

Alleged relics of St. Valentine also lie in Blessed John Duns Scotus’ church in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, Scotland.

So there you have it: the Celtic connection to Valentine’s Day.
Give your loved one a romantic gift with a little Irish luck included with some of our stunning jewelry pieces.