St. Valentine and Ireland

photo via creative commons by Canadian Pacific

The Irish seemed to be connected to everything! St. Valentine, a resident of Rome during his lifetime, is buried in Ireland. Well, at least some of his relics are there, and we think it's the same St. Valentine from which we get Valentine's Day. After nearly 1,800 years these things get confused sometimes.

How did he get to Ireland? His relics were a gift from Pope Gregory XVI in 1836 and reside at the Carmelite Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin. You can read more here.

It's a special day there where couples come to his shrine to receive a blessing on their lives together.