Valentine's day is a celebration of the Roman Saint Valentine. It has been rumored for many centuries, that Saint Valentine had been in prison for persecuting the Christians, but there is not factual evidence for this.

St. Valentine of Rome, martyr.

St Valentine the patron saint of lovers. Saint's Day 14th Feb

Saint Valentine himself is believed to have been Valentinius, a candidate for Bishop of Rome in 143.

The feast of St Valentine was first declared by Pope Gelasius I to be on 14 February 496. It was declared in memory of the martyrdom of St Valentine, a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. St Valentine and Saint Marius helped Christian martyrs and secretly married Christian couples who suffered persecution under Claudius II, and for this act Valentine was apprehended, condemned and executed in 270 A.D.

Valentine's Day is said to be named after Saint Valentine. The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.