St. Isidore was born in Cartagena, Spain, about 560. He was the first Christian writer to compile a summa, or encyclopedia, of universal knowledge. The 20-volume Etymologiaes, as it was called, covered everything from grammar to medicine to cooking. My book of saints describes his writing as not terribly original but incredibly prolific. He died on 4 April, 636, celebrated as his feast day.

That’s St. Isidore on the cover of this month’s PC Alamode, logging into the Vatican Web site on his Dell Inspirion 4000. 

There isn’t a formal procedure for making patron saints. In recent times, Popes have named them but saints also become attached to particular professions, locations or conditions by popular usage. There is usually something in the saint’s life that ties him or her to human concerns. For example, Clare of Assisi was named patron of television because one Christmas when she was too ill to leave her bed she saw and heard Christmas Mass, even though it was taking place miles away. 

St. Isidore is the front-runner for patron saint of the Internet because his Etymologiaes contained the total sum of knowledge at the time. St. Anthony of Padua, after whom San Antonio is named, is also a contender. He is the patron saint of lost things, a kind of 13^th Century search engine.  Maybe we should start a campaign to push for St. Anthony. I like the idea of millions of Catholic Internet users invoking the name of our city every time they log on; it could help in our quest to make San Antonio a high-tech center.

I’m not Catholic, but this whole patron saint thing strikes me as significant.

First, the idea of a 7^th Century Spanish scholar as the patron saint of cyberspace reminds us that there is nothing new under the sun. We tend to get a little full of ourselves, hyping the Internet as a communications revolution, when it is merely the next step in hundreds and thousands of other innovations that have come before, from algebra to the printing press to the telegraph. St. Isidore can help us remember that. There were cutting-edge developments in the Middle Ages, too.

Second, having a saint for the Internet prompts us to recall that the use of the Internet is in human hands. It is just technology, neither good nor bad in and of itself. It can be used by saints or villains, for noble or evil ends. It’s up to each of us to determine how the Internet will be used and this reminder of goodness can only be welcome.

Finally, I am pleased that the patron saint of the Internet will be a scholar, one concerned with knowledge rather than technology. Some commentators have concentrated on the format of St. Isidore’s encyclopedia, noting that since it is cross-indexed it could be considered one of the first relational databases. I prefer to dwell on the content, the web of knowledge that Isidore preserved in a Spain under the domination of the Goths. 

Fans of St. Isidore have written a prayer invoking his aid in using the Internet. The two main petitions of the prayer – use the Internet only for good, and treat those you encounter with patience and charity – are sound principles. Even if you’re not Catholic it would be a good thing to remember these two things every time you log on. It’s the saintly thing to do.