Personal computers may have prompted more prayer from their users with their incomprehensive error messages, infamous “blue screens of death” and other challenges; but there is heavenly help available.That’s because Rome’s exhaustive listing of Catholic patron saints does include one especially associated with the Internet.
That would be Saint Isidore of Seville, Spain, a one-time bishop and schoolmaster who now is open to prayers from those seeking to coexist with computer technology.
If it isn’t computers that are driving you to seek intercessory help, don’t worry; there’s a saint for almost every profession.
Everyone from astronauts (St. Joseph of Cupertino) to the residents of tiny Zutphen, in the Netherlands (St. Walburga), has one.
The Catholic Encyclopedia defines a patron saint, in part, as “One who has been assigned by a venerable tradition, or chosen by election, as a special intercessor with God and the proper advocate of a particular locality, and is honored by clergy and people with a special form of religious observance.”
Lawrence DiPaolo, associate dean of the School of Theology at Houston’s University of St. Thomas, guided Our Faith through this ancient church tradition.
Unlike some church practices that originate in Rome, DiPaolo said that sainthood tends to start at the pew level and later be recognized by the hierarchy.
“Patron saints were originally attached to a locality,” he noted, adding that in much of rural Spain and Italy, each village still retains a link to its own special saint.
Other sources include miracles or signs that have become entwined with a saint.
DiPaolo said: “It mainly comes from this type of popular devotion: When sailors connected the manifestation of this blue light (St. Elmo’s fire) on their mastheads, they might start praying to him and he would eventually become the patron saint of sailors.”
Mary of the Immaculate Conception is the given saint of the Galveston-Houston archdiocese.
“My students have a lot of in interest in early church history and the saints,” DiPaolo said.
Given Galveston’s resort status, DiPaolo noted that the biblical Martha is the patron saint of cooks (including restaurants) and that shrimpers and fisherman still look to St. Elmo (also known as Erasmus).
The best known saintly associations may be those of St. Christopher, who watches over travelers; St. Francis of Assisi, in whose name pets are blessed; St. Patrick, the patron of Ireland (though born in Wales); and St. Nicholas, who has too many associations to include but is linked by even non-Catholics to Santa Claus and Christmas in general.
Since some lists boast more than 5,000 saints — more than a dozen for each day of the calendar year — it isn’t hard to find a saint to match up with your profession, hobby or even ailment.
Whether you need help with vanity, strife or storms — or perhaps stiff joints, diabetes or dizziness — there’s a suggested saint available.
For instance, though there isn’t a saint yet for global warning, there are two for ecology: Francis of Assisi and Kateri Tekakwitha. And even though there isn’t one mentioned for high oil prices, there is a saint for gas station workers: Eligius of Noyon.
Popular professions often have more than one saint attached to them, and most saints are linked to more than one activity. Many are tied to dozens, and there are about one hundred professions and avocations assigned to St. Nick. He covers the bases from archers to virgins to woodturners.
As for Saint Isidore, the recognized patron saint of the Internet and computer users in general, he died in A.D. 646.
That was about 1,297 years before Vint Cerf, the titular “Father of the Internet,” was born.
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Patron saints
• Comedians — St. Vitus
• Dentists — St. Apollonia
• Editors — St. John Bosco
• Pawnbrokers — St. Nicholas
• Librarians — St. Jerome
• Teenagers — St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Maria Goretti
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