In the days leading up to the feast day of St Valentine, which happens to fall on a Saturday this year, the Carmelite priests and staff that occupy Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin city centre will be preparing for one of their busiest weekends of the year, with couples young and old traveling to pray before the relics of St Valentine.
The Carmelite Church, which will celebrate its bicentenary in 2027, has been home to the relics since 1836 when the prior at the time, Carmelite priest Fr John Spratt, was personally gifted the relics by Pope Gregory XVI on a visit to the Vatican.
“We are the custodians of those relics, but it is a great symbol of our link with the Church, and particularly with the Pope,” said the current prior of Whitefriar Street Church, Fr James Eivers, speaking about the significance of the gift from the pontiff.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic in the week prior to Valentine’s Day, Fr Eivers shared the excitement for the feast day that many around the world do, as he prepares to welcome thousands of visitors on February 14 and in the days surrounding.
“On February 14 you get everyone from the curious to the devotional,” said the Carmelite priest. While Valentine’s Day is a particularly crowded day, a variety of visitors come throughout the year, including engaged people preparing for marriage, couples who have been married for 50 plus years coming to renew their vows, and visitors who have lost their partner.
“What I always find very poignant is when someone comes who has lost their partner,” said Fr Eivers. “It’s a real privilege for us to be able to meet with them and pray with them.”
Grace
As much as the ministry around St Valentine includes celebrating flourishing and steady relationships, Fr Eivers shared that many people come to pray before St Valentine for intercession in relationships that are strained or breaking down, which the prior described as “striking” to be able to witness.
“We all try and meet people where they’re at…everyone’s journey is different” said Fr Eivers when asked if there was a recurring thread of advice or prayer he gives to people in relationships. “There’s no one size fits all answer.”
It’s really really important that there’s opportunities to go to a nice restaurant, to enjoy all the wonderful things in life that God gives us”
He shared that a word that comes up frequently in prayer intercessions is “grace” and “the vocation to married life and the challenges that come with that.”
The couples coming in who have been married for 50 plus years share that what has sustained them the most is “communication, forgiveness, reconciliation…but when they come back in Thanksgiving and they’re praying to St Valentine you see so much in the intercession the language of grace.”
While some may feel that St Valentine’s feast day is often overshadowed by the commercialised rendition of Valentine’s Day, filled with dinner reservations, heart-shaped chocolate boxes, and flowers, Fr Eivers said there is a balance to be struck between the two, and he has observed a shift from what he refers to as the “Hallmark card sentimentality” to real devotion to the saint on February 14.
“Who doesn’t like to receive chocolates and flowers and all of that,” admitted the prior, “but the real figure of Valentine teaches us about sacrifice, it teaches us about courage.”
“I’m not being a killjoy, I think it’s really really important that there’s opportunities to go to a nice restaurant, to enjoy all the wonderful things in life that God gives us… and most importantly, to make sure that people that you care about in life know that you care about them.”
Marriage
While Fr Eivers can appreciate the joy and love that comes with the commercialised version of Valentine’s Day, he hopes to remind people not to forget about the figure behind the much-enjoyed holiday.
“Behind the Valentine’s celebration is the figure of Valentine himself, and he is this witness to Christian marriage.” Fr Eivers highlighted the ACCORD Catholic Marriage Care Service and the Irish Catholic Bishop’s Conference as examples of groups doing work to uphold the ideals of Christian marriage that St Valentine represents.
Those who choose Christian marriage are increasingly making the decision rooted in conviction rather than convention”
With cultural shifts and pressures causing fewer people to choose marriage as an option for their future, specifically Christian marriage, Fr Eivers and the Carmelite priests at Whitefriar Street Church are often faced with concern around the declining numbers of couples choosing to marry.
In a press statement, they acknowledged this concern, yet took a more positive perspective: “Christian marriage has never been sustained simply by social custom or by the latest poll in the media! It’s sustained by God’s grace. I suppose, in earlier generations, many couples married because… it was expected. Today, many of those who we meet at Whitefriar Street and who choose Christian marriage, do so consciously and deliberately. It matters to them. It means that those who choose Christian marriage are increasingly making the decision rooted in conviction rather than convention.”
In other words, many of the people who are visiting Whitefriar Street Church around Valentine’s Day are proudly in or looking for relationships that are consistently underpinned by faith, and are treating Christian marriage not just as a vocation, but a lifestyle choice as well.
The Carmelite Order at Whitefriar Street Church suggested a similar thing: “that what we may be seeing now is not the end of Christian marriage, but a quieter, deeper phase, where couples are invited to rediscover its true meaning: self-giving love, lifelong fidelity, forgiveness, and openness to God.”
Shrines
Last year, even with bad weather, Whitefriar Street Church welcomed 3500 visitors through its doors on February 14. “There’s great energy about the place and all of our staff look forward to it as well because people are coming in and in good spirits.”
There’s a sense of renewal going on in the Church in Ireland, particularly in young people,” said Fr Eivers”
Leading up to St Valentine’s feast day, cards and letters will begin to crowd the glass walls surrounding the relics, and the book next to the shrine will fill up with prayers from visitors. Fr Eivers shared that on February 14, the priests will replace the book 3 or 4 times throughout the day.
Fr Eivers shared that the shrine gets visits from across Ireland, Europe, the United States, and beyond. He noted that many tourists stumble upon the relics, not realizing that they are in Dublin and finding out through tourist guides or websites.
Most importantly, the Whitefriar Street Church Prior noted that he sees more and more young people visiting the shrines of not only St Valentine, but St Jude and St Thérèse of Lisieux as well. “There’s a sense of renewal going on in the Church in Ireland, particularly in young people,” said Fr Eivers.
Spirituality
Speaking about youth ministry, prayer groups meetings and Knights of Mercy meetings, which are all active at Whitefriar Street Church, the Carmelite priest said, “the whole link with university students is becoming very important for us and we are actually seeing that they have a real sense of the sacred, a real reverence coming into the church.”
Fr Eivers shared that he has observed relationships blossoming in these prayer groups, as young people recognise the devotion to faith in one another, and think “this is a fellow person of faith”.
Fr Eivers suggested that young adults are drawn towards this “absolute ministry of availability” that the priory allows”
Continuing to praise the devotion of young adults involved in Catholic life, Fr Eivers observed that the young people he speaks to are often completely unafraid to ask questions in order to deepen their faith. “They don’t want a veneer, they want depth,” he said. “They ask deeply profound questions about the spiritual life.”
He noted that young people seem to respond to the gentle spirituality that Carmelites pride themselves on. The prior said he often sees young adults from Generation Z come in and ask “what is this contemplative dimension to your charism, how can we live it?” Sometimes they even ask something as direct as “how can I be a Carmelite?” and admit that while they don’t necessarily feel a calling to other religious orders, they are intrigued by the Carmelite way of life.
“There’s something about the gentle presence that we as Carmelites bring,” he said.
The availability of the Carmelite priests at Whitefriar Street Church, made possible by its location in the city centre, is also inviting for young people. Fr Eivers suggested that young adults are drawn towards this “absolute ministry of availability” that the priory allows for because of their long for connectedness.
“These are all the buzzwords that we’ve heard, but it’s so true,” said Fr Eivers. “It’s important that the youth feel welcomed and valued.”
Energy
The renewal among young people in the Catholic Church in Ireland brings with it “a lot of energy, a lot of positivity,” the prior continued. “It’s just amazing to journey with so many young adults.”
Valentine’s Day is one day, but people are daily trying to live faithfully, fruitfully, as best as they can”
Bringing the same hope and energy into this year’s celebration of St Valentine’s feast day, Fr Eivers, the priory, and the staff at Whitefriar Street Church are ready to welcome all faithful to the relics on February 14, and year-round.
“Valentine’s Day is one day, but people are daily trying to live faithfully, fruitfully, as best as they can…and that’s a challenge for them, and you hear that,” said Fr Eivers. “It’s a privileged position to be in here to just be able to meet with people and that they are able to share those challenges, but also share their hopes and dreams as well. I would say probably, more hopes, more dreams than worries and anxieties, thanks be to God, and I think that’s maybe something about the peace that this place brings people.”
