Valentine's Day century. Popular modern sources claim links to unspecified Greco-Roman February holidays alleged to be devoted to fertility and love to St. Valentine's Day, but prior to Chaucer in the 14th century, there were no links between the saints named Valentinus and romantic love. In Ancient Rome, Lupercalia, observed February 13–15, was an archaic rite connected to fertility. Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning "Juno the purifier" or "the chaste Juno", was celebrated on February 13–14. Pope Gelasius I (492–496) abolished Lupercalia. Some researchers have theorized that Gelasius I
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Philadelphia) is a statue of Mary, after whom the parish is named. Similarly, the ceiling features a fresco of Mary's Assumption and stained glass windows, some reaching a height of two stories. The original architect was Charles Johnson. The churchyard dates from 1759. Its cemetery was enlarged (by adding an extra layer of soil to the ground level) after the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793. St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Philadelphia) St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, also known as Old St. Mary's, is a historic church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Society Hill neighborhood at 248 S. Fourth