Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

Tucked along Mytilene's bustling Ermou Street, the Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary serves the small Roman Catholic community on Lesvos — and quietly holds one of the most surprising sacred treasures in Greece: the relics of Saint Valentine, the third-century martyr whose feast day inspired the modern celebration of love.

The relics' journey to Lesvos is a story of inheritance and devotion. In 1815, Pope Pius VII gifted Saint Valentine's bones to a noble Italian priest. The relics passed through generations of his family until, in 1907, a descendant who had settled in Mytilene brought them to the island's Catholic church. That same year, on April 27, the Catholic Archbishop of Smyrna, Domenico Maregos, conducted a formal autopsy and certified their authenticity.

The relics remained in Mytilene for most of the twentieth century before being moved to the Italian community's church in Athens in 1990. They returned home to Lesvos in 2014, where they have rested ever since.

Every February 14th, the Catholic community of Mytilene celebrates Saint Valentine with a solemn archieratic mass — a quiet, deeply rooted tradition stretching back more than 120 years, long predating the commercial Valentine's Day most of the world celebrates today.

Visitors are welcome year-round. Inside, the church is modest in scale but warm in atmosphere, with a small reliquary holding the saint's bones near the altar. Whether you come for the religious significance, the unexpected history, or simply to stand quietly with one of Greece's more unusual claims to fame, the church offers a few minutes of stillness amid Mytilene's busy commercial heart.