The eldest of the brothers was Bishop Methodius (actually his name was Michael) and he was born in 825 in Thessaloniki, where in 827, two years later, Cyril (called Constantine), a monk, was born. Both were sent to Moravia, Czech Republic, in order to preaching the Christian faith. They carried out their evangelizing work in the 9th century in Central Europe.
They are referred to as "apostles of the Slavs."Among other reasons for having created a new alphabet, the "Cyrillic" alphabet, named after St. Cyril, which offered the Slavic world linguistic and cultural unity with the translation of the Bible, the missal and the liturgical ritual. In 1980, St. John Paul II declared them patrons of Europe, thus uniting them with Saint Benedict, proclaimed patron of the continent by St. Paul VI in 1964.
Subsequently, in 1999, the Polish Pope declared the Patroness of Europe to three womenSt. Bridget of Sweden, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.
St. Valentine, patron saint of lovers
On February 14, the martyr St. Valentine is also celebrated. He is the patron saint of lovers because, according to tradition, during the persecution of Christians in the 3rd century, the saint put his life at risk in order to to unite in marriage to couples, against the order of the emperor.
The thesis can be completed with the following. There were two 'Valentine' saints and both have a similar history, since both (perhaps they were the same), preferred to be executed rather than renounce their Christian faith. In short, St. Valentine was executed for celebrate marriages in secret, and every February 14th their bravery and commitment to love is commemorated.
