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
Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch The Latin Rite Roman Catholic Diocese of Christchurch is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. Its cathedral and see city are located in Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. It was formed on 5 May 1887 from a portion of the territory of the Diocese of Wellington, which was elevated to archdiocese later that same month. St Mary's Catholic Church in Hokitika belongs to the diocese. Following a structural assessment triggered by the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the church was closed to the public in June