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One is a Roman soldier who killed a dragon, the other is a former King of East Anglia whose decapitated head was reunited with its body with the help of a talking wolf. Both have been England's patron saint, and both have supporters who vehemently back their respective cause to hold the title.

So, how does Saint Isidore of Seville become the patron saint for the Internet? The Observation Service for Internet, who drew it's 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 for Internet was Saint Isidore. "The saint who wrote the well-known 'Etymologies' (a type of dictionary), gave his work a structure akin to that of the database.

Saint David and Saint David's Day Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus! Happy St David's Day! Adapted from a talk given at OICCU Meeting Point, in Regent's Park College, Monday, 28th February 1994 If you were lucky enough to be in Wales on March the first, you would find the country in a festive mood. Every self-respecting man, woman and child would be celebrating St. David's Day in one way or another. But who was St. David, and why is he so important to the Welsh? And just how is St. David's Day celebrated in Wales today? Well, Saint David, or...

DEBATES in the New South Wales Parliament are notoriously brutal but MPs can take some comfort from the fact that unlike their patron saint, they won't be beheaded for their principles. Sydney Catholic Archbishop Cardinal George Pell today unveiled a statue of St Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers, statesmen and politicians, in the Speaker's Garden at Parliament House in Sydney. The bronze statue was a gift to the Parliament from the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. St Thomas, who was born in 1477 or 1478, was executed in 1535 for high treason after refusing to publicly accept King Henry...

Miracle of San Gennaro repeatedDried blood of Naples' patron saint liquefies (ANSA) - Naples, September 19 - Thousands of people packed into this city's cathedral Monday morning to watch the blood of patron saint San Gennaro liquefy in the repetition of a centuries-old 'miracle.' The miracle officially took place at 09.56 (07.56gmt) and was announced by the archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Michele Giordano, who held up a phial containing the blood while a white handkerchief was waved from the altar to the applause of the crowd. This year the miracle took on special importance because it marked 1,700 years from...

History's most famous politician earned his notoriety on that first Good Friday so long ago. But this Good Friday, after a Lent marked by Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, Pontius Pilate may get a fresh look when Christians hear the accounts of the Passion read.

According to legend, Saint Barbara was the extremely beautiful daughter of a wealthy heathen named Dioscorus, who lived near Nicomedia in Asia Minor. Because of her singular beauty and fearful that she be demanded in marriage and taken away from him, he jealously shut her up in a tower to protect her from the outside world. Shortly before embarking on a journey, he commissioned a sumptuous bathhouse to be built for her, approving the design before he departed. Barbara had heard of the teachings of Christ, and while her father was gone spent much time in contemplation. From the windows...

Our thread in search of a patron saint for Catholic FReepers was a marvelous revelation. We have such a rich heritage as Catholics, that the possibilities are limitless. Although it is strictly unofficial (and no one elected me Pope) I would like to declare that we do indeed have a patron saint: Mary, Queen of All Saints

The Catholic Caucus of Freepers are in need of our own patron saint. We seem to be quickly developing into something of an apostolate of our own. So I think we should take time to post our ideas about who our patron saint(s) should be for our work here on FreeRepublic.