Saint Valentine lived in the third century in Rome as a bishop and Christian martyr. He broke the Roman emperor Claudius II's edict forbidding marriage for young men by secretly performing marriage ceremonies. For this, Valentine was imprisoned and sentenced to death. While imprisoned, he healed the jailer's daughter of blindness and fell in love with her. On February 14th, the day before his execution, he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine". He was beaten with clubs and beheaded for refusing to renounce Christianity. Since then, February 14th has been celebrated as St. Valentine's Day in honor of his courage and sacrifice.

1. Saint Valentine

2. Basic information about him
 Saint Valentine is also known as Valentine from Rome and
Valentine from Terni.
 He lived in the second and the third century in Rome.
 He was a bishop and a Christian martyr
 Saint Valentine is worshiped by the followers of Catholic
and Syrian church.

3. Saint Valentine's life
 He's mentioned in 'Roman Martyrology' twice, as a Roman priest and a
person who was cut while persecution of Christians.
 He was a doctor but also a priest living mainly in the third century in the
Roman Empire ruled by Claudius the Second. This caesar forbade young
men in age between 18 and 37 to get married, because he thought that the
best soldiers are those men who haven't got a family. Valentine, who was a
bishop, broke this prohibition and blessed their marriages and because of
that he was thrown into the prison, where he fell in love with his watchman's
daughter. According to the legend, his fiancee was blind and under the
influence of the love, she recovered sight. When caesar found out about it,
he told to kill Valentine.

4. How he died
 During Christians' persecution, he stood by the people
sentenced to death with st. Marius. He was told to deny
believing in Jesus, but st. Valentine didn't want to, so in
order to convince him to deny his faith, Claudius the
Second told to use sticks. St. Valentine was killed the 14th
of February. The previous day, he wrote a letter to his
beloved and signed it: ,,From your Valentine”.

5. Patronage
 According to many legends and stories he's known as a
defender against serious illnesses, especially mental
diseases and epilepsy. In the USA, Great Britain and
nowadays also in Poland he's a patron of people fallen in
love.

6. Iconography
 In iconography st. Valentine is presented mainly in a
priest's costume with a chalice in his left hand or in a
bishop's costume with a sword in his right hand during
healing a boy who is ill with epilepsy.

7. Iconography
 In iconography st. Valentine is presented mainly in a
priest's costume with a chalice in his left hand or in a
bishop's costume with a sword in his right hand during
healing a boy who is ill with epilepsy.

8. The end