6 - Patron Saints

Saint Isidore of Seville (San Ysidro in Spanish), was born in the late sixth century, and rose to become bishop of that city. St. Isidore set himself to the task of welding into a homogeneous nation the various peoples who made up the Hispano-Gothic kingdom. To this end he availed himself of all the resources of religion and education. He compiled a 20-volume encyclopedic reference work called "The Etymologies" which covered a wide range of religious and secular topics. Because of this, and other reference works compiled by him, St. Isidore has widely become associated with database and communications software, and thus with the internet. His feast day is April 4th.

Saint Tecla is a christian woman of the first century. Only legends of her life and activities have come down to us. She was reportedly born in Asia Minor, was converted by St. Paul, and joined him as an assistant in his ministry. Because of this association with St. Paul, she became popular throughout the early church. She is the patroness of Tarragona, Spain, and her feast day is September 23rd. The word "tecla" in Catalan means "key" as in keyboard. In this way, she has become associated with the internet and computer use in general.   

Saint Peter Regalado (San Pedro Regalado) was a late 14th and early 15th century Spanish Franciscan priest who was said to have appeared in two places at once, and was renowned as a navigator.  He was famed in his time for his love of solitude and profound piety. His feast day is May 13th. Since the internet has been famous for "negating distance" and for "navigating" its users across the world, San Pedro Regalado has become associated as a patron of the internet.