whitefriar street carmelite church saint valentine

Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church stands on the site of a pre-Reformation Carmelite Priory (1539). Nothing remains of the older buildings. The foundation stone was laid in 1825. In 1856 and 1868 the church was considerably extended and enlarged. The architect, George Papworth (1781-1855) was also the designer of Dublin's Pro Cathedral.

St Valentine : The church contains the remains of St Valentine given by Pope Gregory XVI to Fr Spratt from the cemetery of St Hippolytus, Rome, in 1835. St Valentine's fame, together with the fact that his feast fell on February 14th seems to have accounted for his association with the old customs observed on that date.

They were springtime beliefs and traditions. There was a belief that the birds mated on February 14th, girls would choose their Valentine sweetheart on that day and later came the custom of sending greeting cards (Valentines) The crocus which flowers about this time, is St Valentine's Flower.

St Albert's Well Albert was a Sicilian (d 1306).