'Valentine's day is all about love and affection, in theory at least. But an attempt by an Italian bishop to remove his remains from the cathedral where they rest has provoked an unholy row.

Monsignor Giuseppe Piemontese, who has been the Bishop of Terni-Narni-Amelia since 2014, wanted to transfer the remains of the saint from the San Valentino Basilica in Terni, Umbria, to another cathedral three miles away.

The occasion was a special Valentine's Day celebration as part of the Catholic Church's Holy Year of Mercy.

However, according to the Telegraph, dozens of local people joined hands to prevent the bishop removing the relics and put chairs around the glass receptacle in which they are housed. Monsignor Piemontese's calls for calm were ignored, according to Italian media.

"We are staying here together with our patron saint," said one protester. "No-one is going to take him away.

"If they really want to do it, they're going to have to get past us, because we're not moving even one step backwards."

The town has fallen into decay in recent years. Another protester said they had "had lost everything" and would not allow a piece of their history – which is also an important tourist attraction – to be taken from them.

Yesterday the parishioners appeared to have defeated the bishop and retained the bones of the saint. In his sermon on Sunday morning Monsignor Piemontese accused them of behaving in an "intolerant, arrogant and disrespectful manner" and said the decision to move the remains had been taken "after many consultations and general consensus".

The cathedral in Terni is one of three which claims to hold the bones of Valentine, martyred in Rome in the 3rd century. The relics were moved there in 1618, not long after it was built.