St. Isidore of Seville: Patron of Internet Technology Professionals, Scholars, Scientists; Handmade Statue

In 1999, some IT professionals petitioned Pope John Paul II to designate a patron saint for them and their profession, proposing St. Isidore of Seville (560-636, a long life) because Isidore had codified all then-available knowledge into a system (a primitive encyclopedia, a database) that would make it possible for others to locate that learning. Isidore not only possessed towering erudition (his "Etymologies," just one of his many works, comprises twenty volumes that cover thousands of subjects) but also rigorously investigated reality himself, studying plants, animals, rocks, road-building, metals, architecture, the heavens..., coming to understand that each thing and creature has meaning and is part of a spiritual and physical “worldwide web of things.” In creating this system, Isidore was one of the scholars who saved classical learning and passed it along to the future. Beyond all this, Isidore was the archbishop of Seville for nearly thirty years, working tirelessly to help his