Did you know that there is very little agreement on who the real St. Valentine really was? In fact, there are so many conflicting stories, that the Roman Catholic Church removed him from the Catholic calendar of saints.
The most reliable of the stories about St. Valentine are about a man named Valentinus who died on February 14 on the Via Flaminia, north of Rome. The first describes him marrying Christian couples under the rule of Cladius II in Rome, an activity that was strictly forbidden. He was arrested, beaten with clubs and stones, and when that failed to kill him, behedded outside of the Flaminian Gate.
The second story tells of a man also named Valentinus who was arrested for aiding Christians. While under house arrest, he got into a debate about the validity of Jesus with the Roman judge in whose home he was imprisoned. The judge decided to test him, and brought to Valentinus the judge's blind adopted daughter. Valentinus succeeded in restoring the girl's sight, the judge would do anything he asked. Valentinus laid his hands on her eyes and the child's vision was restored. Immediately humbled, the judge asked Valentinus what he should do. Valentinus replied that all of the idols around the judge's house should be broken, the judge should fast for three days, and then undergo baptism. The judge obeyed and as a result, freed all the Christian inmates under his authority. The judge, his family and forty others were baptized. Valentinus was freed, but later arrested by Rome for continuing to share Christ, and martyred on February 14, 269.
