Five saints who suffered for love

Since the origins of Christianity, there have been stories of saints in love that constitute examples of love, humanity, and fragility. Here are just a few

Even the Saints suffered for love. Or at least some of them. After all, we are talking about men and women, who are subject to feelings, emotions, and passion. Even to sin, it is enough to think of Saint Augustine, who, before becoming the shining example of holiness and virtue that we know, was devoted to vice and debauchery. Therefore, in view of the feast of Valentine’s Day, dedicated to those who love, there is nothing strange about wanting to rediscover the stories of saints in love. Saints who have loved, who have been married, or who have lost the love of their lives and have had their hearts broken. Men and women, in fact, are vulnerable, capable of human feelings and, nevertheless, or perhaps precisely because of their fragility, saints. According to Christian tradition, these same saints can be invoked to seek help in times of loving suffering.

Let’s see some stories of saints in love.

Saint Valentine of Terni

Saint Valentine of Terni, a Roman bishop and martyr, is considered the patron saint of lovers. The reasons for this patronage are to be found in the history of the Saint and in the different traditions and legends inspired by him. Many of these underscore his commitment to love and union between men and women, even between people of various religious professions, as in the case of the marriage between Serapia and Sabino. In other legends, Saint Valentine appears as a peacemaker to whom lovers turned for help, owing to his compassionate nature and his ability to resolve conflicts through love and prayer. These stories, while legendary, have helped shape Saint Valentine’s figure as the patron saint of lovers and weddings and continue to inspire people to seek and celebrate love in their lives. But there is also another legend according to which Saint Valentine himself was in love with a maiden. Imprisoned for having continued to celebrate marriages between young Christians despite the ban of Emperor Claudius II, the Saint had finally fallen madly in love with the daughter of his jailer. It is said that shortly before his execution, he wrote a touching farewell letter to his beloved, signing himself simply with the words: “From your Valentine”. This romantic and poignant gesture testifies to the depth of his feelings and his dedication to love, even in the face of imminent death. This story adds an extra layer of humanity and passion to the figure of Valentine, capable of loving like a simple man.

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St. Valentine’s Day

this department you will find a wide selection of articles and gift ideas to celebrate this special day with your loved one.

Saint Augustine of Hippo

We have already mentioned Saint Augustine of Hippo, known for his experiences of love and passion before his conversion to Christianity. In this sense, Saint Augustine understood the challenges of love and can be a powerful intercessor for those who suffer from the loss of relationships. It is no coincidence that he left, among his countless and inspired writings, a Letter to man to love a woman forever. An extraordinarily up-to-date text, which every man in love should read and make his own!

Young friend, if you love, this is the miracle of life.
Enter the dream with open eyes and live it with firm love.
The unlived dream is a star to be left in heaven.
Love your woman without asking for anything other than the eternal question that keeps old hearts alive with nostalgia.
But remember that the more she loves you, the less she will know how to tell you. Look into her eyes so that your fingers are bound with the desperate desire to unite again, and your hands and eyes say the sure promises of your tomorrow. But remember again that if bodies are reflected in the eyes, souls are seen in misfortunes.
Do not feel humiliated in recognising a quality of it that you do not possess.
Do not believe yourself superior because only life will tell you about your different misfortune.
Do not impose your will in words, but only by example.
This bride, your companion in that unknown path that is life, love and defend it, because tomorrow it can be a refuge for you.
Be sincere, young friend, if love is strong, every destiny will make you smile.
Love her like the sun you invoke in the morning. Respect her like a flower waiting for the light of love.
Respect her like a flower waiting for the light of love.
Take this for her, and since this must be her for you, thank God together, who has granted you the brightest grace of life!

Saint Rita of Cascia

Saint Rita of Cascia, protector of marriages and impossible causes, experienced a difficult marriage and suffered the tragic and premature loss of her husband and children. Before embracing monastic life in the Augustinian convent of Santa Maria Magdalena in Cascia, Saint Rita of Cascia was given in marriage to Paolo di Ferdinando, a Ghibelline official, by her parents’ will. Despite Paolo’s fierce and violent character, Rita loved him, and he managed to appease his warlike heart for her sake. Together they had two children and led a serene and happy life, until, unfortunately, Paul’s turbulent past came back to haunt them, and one night he was brutally murdered.

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Saint Rita kneeling resin statue 12 cm

The statuette is made of resin, a material that allows a better attention to detail and sharpness of lines.

Despite the pain of loss, Rita demonstrated an extraordinary virtue of forgiveness, rejecting any desire for revenge and praying for the peace and protection of her children. Unfortunately, her prayers were answered painfully: both her children died, leaving her alone and abandoned, even by the relatives of the husband she had convinced not to seek revenge. Following these tragedies, Rita obtained permission to enter the convent of Saint Mary Magdalene in Cascia, where she embraced monastic life as an Augustinian nun. For these reasons, she has been associated with the patronage of marriages, complicated and painful ones.

Pier Giorgio Frassati

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a Dominican tertiary, was born in 1901 in Turin, into a family of the wealthy bourgeoisie. Endowed with a lovable and open character, he was deeply touched by his encounter with poverty from his high school years, when he began attending the Works of Saint Vincenzo and dedicating his free time to welfare work for the poor and dispossessed. He joined several Catholic congregations and associations and, together with his closest friends, founded a society dedicated to mutual help in inner life and assistance to the last.
At 22, Pier Giorgio met Laura Hidalgo and fell madly in love with her. However, this love remained secret in his heart, as the boy feared causing pain to his family, since Laura was from a lower social background. He never confessed his feelings to her and eventually gave up on her. He died seven months later of polio on 4 July 1925, after writing a touching farewell letter, which reads, among other things: “I have loved with pure love, and today, renouncing her, I desire her happiness. I ask you to pray to God to give me the Christian strength to face it serenely.”

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary was an example of dedication to God’s will and love for the poor, despite her nobility and wealth. As a Hungarian princess, she lived surrounded by luxury and prestige, but always kept a generous heart and was open to others, generously sharing her riches with the less fortunate.
Deeply in love with her husband, Louis IV (also called Louis the Holy), Elizabeth demonstrated a sincere love that never diverted her from her faith and dedication to God.
Married at 14, Elizabeth was widowed at only 20, when the death of her husband hit her hard. Despite the devastating pain, she accepted God’s will with a genuinely Christian faith and, after her husband’s death, embraced religious life in the Franciscan Third Order, zealously devoting herself to works of charity and caring for the most needy. Her life of sacrifice and service to others led her to an untimely death, which occurred when she was only 24 years old.
Her extraordinary example of humility, generosity, and fidelity to God’s will inspired generations of believers to follow the path of love and charity.

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Saint Elizabeth in light and dark wood

Hand made and hand painted figurine by the Val Gardena artisans.