Real St. Valentines: Martyrs Behind Modern Romance

The Catholic Church recognizes at least two Saint Valentines martyred on February 14 under Roman Emperor Claudius II in the 3rd century, with their stories blending over time into legends of a priest marrying lovers secretly and healing a blind girl—details absent from early records. Historians note the feast likely overlaid the ancient Lupercalia festival, a mid-February Roman rite of fertility involving sacrifices. Medieval writers like Chaucer transformed it into a romantic celebration, evolving through myth and modern commercialization into today’s holiday.