This has to be the most unusual Valentine's Day present of all;
"In 1835 an Irish Carmelite by the name of John Spratt was visiting Rome. He was well known in Ireland for his skills as a preacher and also for his work among the poor and destitute in Dublin’s Liberties area. He was also responsible for the building of the new church to Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Whitefriar Street. While he was in Rome he was asked to preach at the famous Jesuit Church in the city, the Gesu. Apparently his fame as a preacher had gone before him, no doubt brought by some Jesuits who had been in Dublin. The elite of Rome flocked to hear him and he received many tokens of esteem from the doyens of the Church. One such token came from Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) and were the remains of Saint Valentine.
On November 10, 1836, the Reliquary containing the remains arrived in Dublin and were brought in solemn procession to Whitefriar Street Church where they were received by Archbishop Murray of Dublin. With the death of Fr Spratt interest in the relics died away and they went into storage. During a major renovation in the church in the 1950s/60s they were returned to prominence with an altar and shrine being constructed to house them and enable them to be venerated. The statue was carved by Irene Broe and depicts the saint in the red vestments of a martyr and holding a crocus in his hand."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Valentine's Day in 21st century Listowel - some shop windows
______________________
And from Noreen O'Connell an old love story, a lovely photo of her grandparents;
And Noreen's own wedding photo
Check out this site for an account of Ireland's 10 most famous couples
You might like to visit this site to read about Ireland's greatest love symbol, the Claddagh ring;
| 
Thanks so much for adding a link up to my post on the Claddagh ring. I love your blog and stories. I'll be back to check it out regularly.
ReplyDelete