Scientists have for the first time revealed the face of the patron saint of lovers, who paid a heavy price for his defence of romance 1,700 years ago.

Experts in Brazil have revealed what Saint Valentine looked like, using state-of-the-art 3D interactive technology after studying the ancient holy man's skull.

His remains were digitally mapped and his face reconstructed by one of the country's leading computer graphic designers, Cicero Moraes, using 3D interactive technology.

The unveiling is timely, as it comes a day before millions of people across the globe celebrate the modern-day love fest in his name.

Scroll down for video

Saint's alive! This is how St Valentine would have looked, according to the scientists

After a lengthy and intricate process, the team was able to produce an image showing what St Valentine looked like

The saint's relic, which is kept in the Basilica of Santa Maria of Cosmedin, in Rome, was photographed by José Luís Lira, a researcher and religious writer, and analysed by forensic anthropologist, Dr Marcos Paulo Salles Machado.

He concluded the head 'belonged to a European male aged around 55 years or more'.

Around 250 photos were taken of St Valentine's skull, which is kept in the Basilica of Santa Maria of Cosmedin, in Rome

The saint's remains were digitally mapped and his face reconstructed by one of the country's leading computer graphic designers, Cicero Moraes, using 3D interactive technology

Photographer José Luís Lira took 250 images of the skull, from which the researchers were able to build details of the saint's features

Despite limited access to the skull - which is kept in a tiny glass reliquary in the church and coronated with a crown of flowers - the researchers claim to have produced the first authentic likeness of the third century Roman bishop.

The MailOnline has been given exclusive access to the results of the 3D reconstruction, which shows how a series of photographs led to the digital rebuilding of the characteristics of the centuries-old face.

From the anatomical laying of soft tissue and muscle, to pigmentating skin tone and sculpting the features, the final result depicts a white haired, bearded benevolent-looking man.

Using the photographs of St Valentine's skull, the team was able to create a 3D image

The newly-created image was based on 250 photographs of the saint's skull, which is currently kept in Rome

THE PATRON SAINT OF LOVERS: WHO WAS ST VALENTINE? Although St Valentine's life is largely shrouded in mystery, tradition holds that the ancient clergyman, who was killed in 273AD, sacrificed his life for love by defying a ban on marriage imposed by Emperor Claudius II. Historians claim the Roman ruler was determined to build a formidable army to defend his empire. He clamped down on lovers getting hitched, believing that young men, with no wife or dependents, would be more likely to go to war. But the early Christian saint challenged the edict and secretly performed weddings for couples. The risks were great. Valentine lived at a time when Christians were persecuted and marriage ceremonies were still a new ritual. St Valentine's match-making activities, particularly for soldiers, were eventually uncovered and Claudius II imprisoned and tortured him. Legend also has it that while in jail many young people supported him by throwing flowers and passing notes through the prison bars expressing their belief in marriage and love. And apparently shortly before his death, the 'godfather' of love fell head over heels for his jailer's blind daughter, Artemias, who miraculously regained her eyesight. On February 14, the day of his execution, St Valentine sent his sweetheart a goodbye love letter signed 'from your Valentine'. Advertisement

He is dressed in a tunic, the official liturgical robes of a priest of the time. The red represents his martyrdom,

Moraes, who is based in Sinop, west central Brazil, specialises in recreating the lifelike images of saints and has worked on the 3D face reconstruction of over 10 Roman Catholic holy people.

He said: 'This has been an exciting, complicated and rare project to do. It's not often that you get access to a precious and suitably relevant relic like this. We were fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.

'We worked on this project for three months and unveiling St Valentine's face now, is a timely reminder of why this dedicated day of affection first started.

'Our work also gives the world a visual reference of who we should be thanking for the celebration,' he added.

Getting access to St Valentine's skull came through an unexpected turn of events for the researchers.

Lira, who is also president of the Brazilian Academy of Hagiology (a study of the saints) has worked with Moraes on the reconstruction of the faces of Mary Magdalene and Saint Pauline of Brazil, among others.

He was in Rome last October on a separate project when he stumbled across the opportunity.

'I was in St. Peter's Square when one of the many sellers there gave me a picture of St Valentine,' recalled Lira, who is normally based in Ceará, north east Brazil.

'I took it as a sign to see if I could get unthinkable, close up access to the skull in the Basilica. The chance to do the facial reconstruction of one of the Roman Catholic church's most important and venerated relics has been a life-long dream,' he said.

Using the piece of skull, scientists were able to build an image of the rest of his head

Experts were able to reconstruct St Valentine's face after mapping his skull using 3D technology

As it happens, dean of the church, Father Mtanious Hadad, was keen to authorise the procedure. In an unprecedented move the church closed its doors to the public and for 40 minutes, Lira had exclusive access but couldn't remove the skull from its resting place.

Photos of the relic, which was found during the excavation of a catacomb in Rome in the early 1800s, show the limited view of the object.

Lira sent 250 snaps to Moraes who whittled them down to 43. The graphic designer used photogrammetry and spatial scaling software to map and build a 3D skull.

The 3D technology laid soft tissue and muscle on St Valentine's face to help build a picture of what he really looked like

Despite limited access to the skull - which is kept in a tiny glass reliquary in the church and coronated with a crown of flowers - the researchers claim to have produced the first authentic likeness of the third century Roman bishop

Machado forensically analysed the 3D virtual head and confirmed the ancestry, sex and age without knowing who it was.

From his observations, he said it was that of a mature man. He analysed aspects such as the projected glabella (the area between the eyebrows and above the nose), the sloping forehead, prominent superciliary arches (eyebrow ridge), blunt orbital ridges (located around the eye sockets), and the massive mastoid process (the temporal bone behind the ear).

Age was determined by dental development.

The team used 3D meshing to sculpt St Valentine's face during the intricate process

However, Machado admitted: 'A complete analysis was difficult because only a small front section of the skull could be captured by photogrammetry. So, we needed to fill in the gaps.'

But given that they were unable to handle the skull, this is the best anyone is likely to do for now said the researchers.

Moraes used another skull chosen for its compatibility, from a 3D digital library, to complete St Valentine's cranium.

Scientists were able to work out minute details to create the final image of the saint's face

By adding hair and a beard to the digitally reconstructed face, scientists were able to give him a more realistic likeness

He then set about digitally adjusting and adding the anatomical details, placing soft tissue, muscle and cartilage using measurements gathered from hundreds of middle-aged men of the same ancestry, to sculpt the face.

He said: 'The video illustrates a process called Retopo which uses 3D mesh sculpting on the base of the face and data processing to build up all the other features.

'St Valentine's final look is based on skeletal, scientific and historical research and draws on years of my experience,' explained Moraes, adding his involvement in the project is ironic.

St Valentine's match-making activities, particularly for soldiers, were eventually uncovered and Claudius II imprisoned and tortured him

The skin and pigmentation were added to give a realistic representation of St Valentine's appearance

Finally, the team adjusted his hair colouring... and gave him some clothes!

Brazil doesn't celebrate Valentine's Day in February. The country's carnival festivities dominate the calendar around this time of year and the equivalent day known as Dia dos Namorados is June 12.

'This year, I'm going to celebrate it with the rest of the world to mark the historic discovery,' said Moraes while acknowledging at least two other ancient holy men are said to lay claim to being St Valentine.

But Moraes dismissed the notion confidently: 'We firmly believe we've uncovered the face of the real patron saint of love and unveiled much of what he looked like when he was alive.'