Visit St. Valentine's Shrine

Everyone knows that St Valentine is the patron saint of lovers, but not everyone knows where to find him. The mortal remains of St. Valentine have been resting in a Dublin church since 1836. Today the shrine of St Valentine in the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street in Dublin is a regular place of pilgrimage for young lovers and old romantics alike.

St Valentine has been patron saint of lovers for over a thousand years but, while many churches and shrines have been raised to him over the centuries, his remains were lost until the early 1800s when his grave was rediscovered in Rome’s St. Hyppolytus cemetery.

In 1835 Fr John Spratt, a noted Irish Carmelite Preacher, was in Rome. He was already well known in Dublin not just as a preacher but for his work with the poor and for his efforts in erecting a magnificent new church on Dublin’s Whitefriar Street. His reputation preceded him and the people of Rome flocked to hear his sermons. So impressed was Pope Gregory XVI with the Irish preacher he presented him with the remains of St Valentine as a reward for his good works.

The arrival of St Valentine’s remains were greeted with great excitement in Dublin and the people poured on to the streets to see the Reliquary containing the remains of the saint as they were carried through the streets of Dublin to be received by the Archbishop and assembled dignitaries at the Church that Fr Spratt had founded. For a while they were the talk of the town, but they were turbulent times, beset by famine and revolution and within a few years the very memory of St Valentine had disappeared and his remains were once again forgotten.

It was not until the 1950s that the Reliquary of St Valentine was removed from storage and returned to its proper place of veneration. A special altar and shrine were built to contain St Valentine’s remains and to allow people to pray before him. A new statue was carved by Irish sculptor Irene Breo and shows the Saint wearing the red cloth of the martyr and holding his symbolic crocus aloft in blessing and benediction upon all lovers. The casket containing the remains of St Valentine is kept in a niche beneath the altar and are protected by a decorative gate of iron and glass. On top of the casket are the coat of arms of Pope Gregory XVI, who donated the relics to the church, and inscribed upon it the words “This Shrine contains the sacred body of Saint Valentinus the Martyr, together with a small vessel tinged with his blood.” It is believed that the casket only contains some of the remains of St Valentine and a small vessel of his blood. All are covered in painted paper, tied with red silk ribbon and sealed with wax as is the tradition with reliquaries. Although the outer casket has been opened to check that the contents are still inside and intact, the inner casket has neither been opened nor the seals broken.

Whitefriar Street church is still in daily use as a church and has a steady stream of visitors – the lovesick, young couples starting out on their relationships and older couples reaffirming their love for one another. Anyone can visit and take a few moments before the shrine to contemplate, to pray or to light a candle.

On the feast day of St Valentine, on 14 February, the Reliquary containing the remains of St Valentine is removed from the Shrine and placed before high alter of the church and duly venerated at the special Valentine’s masses. In addition the priests perform a Blessing of the Rings for those about to be married and deliver some suitable sermons.

Whitefriar Street Church is actually on Aungier Street in central Dublin, a short walk from the main visitor and shopping areas.  From the top of Grafton Street walk up St. Stephen’s Green West as far as the College of Surgeons and take the second right turn on to York Street.  Then just walk straight down York Street. until it ends at Aungier Street.  The church is directly in front of you on the other side of the road.  Cross at the conveniently located pedestrian lights beside you.