Valentine was pope of Rome for about 40 days in 827, and little is known about his life. He came from an upper-class Roman family and was an archdeacon when he was elected pope. Although a council in 796 had denied the laity a voice in papal elections, the laity were involved in Valentine's election.
The Origin of St. Valentine
The origin of St. Valentine, and how many St. Valentines there were, remains a mystery. One opinion is that he was a Roman martyred for refusing to give up his Christian faith. Other historians hold that St. Valentine was a temple priest jailed for defiance during the reign of Claudius. Whoever he was, Valentine really existed because archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine. In 496 AD Pope Gelasius marked February 14th as a celebration in honor of his martyrdom.
The first representation of Saint Valentine appeared in a The Nuremberg Chronicle, a great illustrated book printed in 1493. [Additional evidence that Valentine was a real person: archaeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to Saint Valentine.] Alongside a woodcut portrait of him, text states that Valentinus was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of Claudius the Goth [Claudius II]. Since he was caught marrying Christian couples and aiding any Christians who were being persecuted under Emperor Claudius in Rome [when helping them was considered a crime], Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner -- until Valentinus made a strategic error: he tried to convert the Emperor -- whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn't do it, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate [circa 269].
Saints are not supposed to rest in peace; they're expected to keep busy: to perform miracles, to intercede. Being in jail or dead is no excuse for non-performance of the supernatural. One legend says, while awaiting his execution, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine."
St. Valentine was a Priest, martyred in 269 at Rome and was buried on the Flaminian Way. He is the Patron Saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses.
100th and Ninth Century Bishop of Rome and Pope of the Universal Catholic Church (827)Pope Valentine (Latin: Valentinus; died 10 October 827) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States for two months in 827. He was unusually close to his predecessor, Eugene II, rumoured to be his son or his lover, and became pope before being ordained as a priest. He was a nobleman and elected by nobility, which later became the custom.
Career
Born in Rome in the region of the Via Lata, Valentine was the son of a Roman noble called Leontius. Showing an early aptitude for learning, he was moved from the school attached to the Lateran Palace and, according to the Liber Pontificalis, was made a deacon by Pope Paschal I (817–824). His biographer in the Liber pontificalis praises his piety and purity of morals, which won him the favor of Paschal I, who raised him to the rank of archdeacon. He also was clearly favoured by Paschal's successor, Eugene II, to the point where rumours were circulated that Valentine was really Eugene's son. According to Louis-Marie DeCormenin, other rumours declared that Valentine and Eugene were involved in an illicit relationship.
With the death of Eugene II, Valentine was acclaimed as pope by the Roman clergy, nobility and people. They took him from the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore and installed him in the Lateran Palace, ignoring his protests. In their haste, they enthroned him before he was ordained a priest. This was an unusual reversal of the normal proceedings, and in fact was the first time it had happened in the recorded history of the papacy, although it would be repeated during the pontificate of Benedict III. On the following Sunday, he was formally consecrated bishop at St. Peter's Basilica. There were no imperial representatives present during the election, and Valentine had no opportunity to ratify his election with the Carolingian emperor, as he was dead within five weeks, dying on 10 October 827.
Legacy
The election of Valentine was another sign of the increased influence the Roman nobility was having in the papal electoral process. Not only had they managed to get one of their own elected, but they also took part in the election itself. The Lateran Council of 769, under Stephen III, had mandated that the election of the pope was to be the responsibility of the Roman clergy only, and that the nobility could only offer their respects after the pope had been chosen and enthroned. This council's edict had been abrogated, however, with the Ludowicianum of 817, which provided that the Roman lay nobility would participate in papal elections. This gradual encroachment into the papal electoral process would reach its nadir during the tenth century, when the papacy became the plaything of the Roman aristocracy.
Notes
- ^ Mann, pgs. 183–184
- ^ Mann, pg. 184
- ^ Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Pope Valentine." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 20 September 2017
- ^ DeCormenin, pgs. 217–218
- ^ Mann, pgs. 184–185
- ^ Mann, pgs. 185–186
- ^ DeCormenin, pg. 218
- ^ Davis, Raymond, Lives of the Ninth-Century Popes, (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1995): 34.
- ^ Mann, pg. 185
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Pope Valentine". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
