At St Valentine’s shrine, faithful youth seek depth beyond sentiment

As Valentine’s Day arrives and couples once again flock to Whitefriar Street Church to venerate the relics of St Valentine, the Carmelite prior Fr James Eivers says Ireland’s young Catholics are showing that love and faith must be rooted in depth.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Fr Eivers praised the growing number of young people involved in the Church for their willingness to engage with the deeper questions of the spiritual life.

Whitefriar Street, known as the resting place of St Valentine’s relics and a focal point of prayer each February, has also become a hub of youth activity throughout the year. Through prayer groups and Knights of Mercy meetings, Fr Eivers has observed the youth revival in the Catholic Church up close.

“They don’t want a veneer, they want depth,” he said. “They ask deeply profound questions about the spiritual life.”

In a season often marked by surface-level expressions of romance, Fr Eivers believes young people are drawn to a more demanding and committed understanding of love. While asking questions and having difficult conversations about faith may be perceived as taboo for older generations, Gen Z has adopted it as normal practice, and the Carmelite priests at Whitefriar Street Church have welcomed their curiosity.

“The whole link with university students is becoming very important for us,” he said. “We are actually seeing that they have a real sense of the sacred, a real reverence coming into the church.”

The prime location of Whitefriar Street Church on Aungier Street in Dublin and the fact that it is home to the Carmelite priory makes it easy for young people to stop in for conversation, confession or prayer.

This “absolute ministry of availability”, as Fr Eivers puts it, seems to be a drawing point for youth, as they are searching for connectivity.  In the quiet of the church, often before the shrine of St Valentine, they find space not only to pray for relationships, but to reflect on faith and love.