St. Isidore Updated
So, how did a 7th century Spanish archbishop and educator become the patron saint for the Internet?
The Vatican’s Observation Service for Internet, which drew its mission from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, researched the Internet and related technologies to select a patron saint that best reflects the concerns and ideals of computer designers, programmers and users. The saint chosen by the Observation Service was Saint Isidore.
The proposal for such a move was made in 1999, with Spanish Catholic bishops advocating St. Isidore as the best candidate on the grounds that in the 7th century he produced one of the world’s first databases in the form of a twenty-volume encyclopedia called the Etymologies. He was the first Christian writer to essay the task of compiling a summa of universal knowledge. His encyclopedia epitomized all learning, ancient as well as modern, and in it many fragments of classical learning are preserved which otherwise would have been hopelessly lost.
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Invocation to St. Isidore
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When programs crash and cursors freeze,
with warnings: "fatal error",
our systems drive us to our knees-
can this be cyber-terror,
or mere demoniac possession?
We need some saintly intercession!
Ah, what comfort to implore,
"Pray for us, St. Isidore!"
When files we’ve saved cannot be found
(not even by Outlook),
when viruses and worms abound,
and eat the address book,
when through the Windows data’s flying,
the desperate cyber-slaves are crying,
prostrate on the office floor,
"Pray for us, St. Isidore!"
When "You’ve got mail!" but it’s all spam
(or files that won’t unzip),
when all at once there’s no more RAM,
we start to lose our grip,
and filling with the foulest hates,
we would defenestrate Bill Gates!
"Our charitable hearts restore-
pray for us, St. Isidore!"
When downloads fail, when disks erase,
when life-work’s lost in cyberspace,
remind us in our dire frustration:
The goal here is communication.
"Oh, heed our pleas (but don’t keep score)-
pray for us, St. Isidore!"
–Mary W. Cox
Copyright (c) 2002 Mary W. Cox
