Saint Valentine is traditionally regarded as a patron saint of epilepsy.
The association is part of a broader body of medieval and early modern saintly patronage surrounding illness and seizures. In parts of Europe, epilepsy was once called “Saint Valentine’s malady,” and images or objects connected with Saint Valentine were invoked for protection or healing.
The tradition is also linked to more than one historical Saint Valentine. Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni are associated with February 14, while Valentine of Passau has separate traditions of patronage that include epilepsy. Popular references often compress these overlapping traditions into the single figure called Saint Valentine.
This is a religious and historical association, not a medical claim that the saint treats epilepsy. Modern neurology explains epilepsy through recurrent abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and migraines are not the canonical answers to this particular patron-saint question.