Travel: Bones of St. Valentine Glasgow

Where to find St. Valentine’s bones in an unlikely place

What is more romantic for Valentine’s Day than to visit some bones of the chap himself, right? Blessed St John Duns Scotus Church in Glasgows Gorbals district is said to be the resting place of St. Valentine himself. Who knew St Valentine was in Glasgow?!

Inside the church is a wooden box inscribed with “Corpus Valentini Martyris,” or “the Body of Saint Valentine”. The story of how it got here is interesting…in 1868, a wealthy French family made the donation to the the Franciscan church, St Francis. The chest sat in a side aisle, unknown for years until the church moved to the Blessed St John Duns Scotus site. St Francis Church is now a community centre.

So who was St Valentine?

St Valentine was a 3rd Century priest or a bishop in the Roman Empire. He ministered persecuted Christians and was martyred with his body buried at a cemetery on the Via Flaminia to the north of Rome. February 14, which has been observed as the Feast of Saint Valentine (St Valentine’s Day) since 496 AD.

Other sites of the bones of St Valentine include the skull of St Valentine is on display in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Rome. Remains can be found at Whitefriars Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland and at the Birmingham Oratory.

What has St Valentine got to do with love?

According to legend, Emperor Claudius II ordered his death as St Valentine defied the emperor’s orders of banning soldiers from being married. It was thought single men make better soldiers. He secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war.