12/28/2022
St. Valentine of Rome was a priest, possibly a bishop, in the third century. When the Roman Emperor made marriage illegal (he was having trouble raising an army because he could not draft married men) Valentine continued to marry couples in secret. That did not please the emperor so he had Valentine thrown into prison and then beaten and beheaded about the year 269. Shortly before he was killed he sent a note to a young girl who had befriended him asking her to remain faithful to God. He signed it "From Your Valentine."
