Tradition has it that the Roman emperor Claudius II, in order to prevent Christian families from multiplying, prohibited the celebration of all Christian marriages. Furthermore, he was convinced that married soldiers were not usually brave enough, since they were emotionally subject to a family.
Then, it reached the emperor’s ears that Bishop Valentine had married a converted legionary to a young Christian, an act that he considered a direct affront against his authority. He soon gave the order to locate and arrest the bishop. So the saint was imprisoned and then taken to the Via Flaminia, near the People’s Gate in Rome, where he would be flogged.
To avoid riots or protests from those who appreciated the bishop, Claudius decided to execute him and bury his remains in secret. Tradition indicates that Bishop Saint Valentine died beheaded on February 14, 273. A very popular version indicates that, after a reasonable time, three of his disciples managed to locate and unearth his body, and took it back to their city to give him a worthy burial.