Coming Soon to a Computer Near You

Instead of fumbling through bulky computer guides and frantically calling distant help desks, the religiously inclined may soon have a higher option when their computer crashes. Pope John Paul II is expected to soon be naming the patron saint of Internet users and computer programmers. Vatican sources have confirmed that St. Isidore of Seville, nominated two years ago, is a leading contender to be the saintly guardian of cyberspace. St. Isidore is attributed with writing the world's first encyclopedia, known as Etymologia. Written more than 1,400 years ago, it was a 20-volume collection of writings on subjects ranging from art, medicine, history and theology to mathematics, literature, agriculture, war and mineralogy. Spanish religious groups, among others, already designated their countryman as a "protector" of the World Wide Web in 1999. Because his life's work ended up in a categorized database, an ancestor of today's Internet, he seems a natural choice for many. A recent online poll in The Economist found he had the most Web page references of all the cyberspace patron saint candidates. The Holy See has yet to make a final decision, leaving the field open to other candidates, most of whom are underdogs, given St. Isidore's popularity with online users. He is up against St. Paul, the Archangel Gabriel, and St. Anthony of Padua, whom many of the prayerful turn to when they have lost something. There is also San Pedro Regalado, a 15th-century global navigator who is believed to have appeared in two places at once. For some, he would be an appropriate guardian for the cybersurfer. Even in the Vatican, the internet has introduced an unprecedented era. If enough Internet users choose Saint Isidore as their patron saint, this virtual word-of-mouth may unofficially canonize him. Mistaken cyber gossip may have already anointed him. Despite the fast-paced and unparalleled force of the Internet, Pope John Paul II is endeavoring to keep up. Back in 1996, the Vatican launched its own Web site, www.vatican.va, which publishes church documents, papal speeches, news updates, and interactive information on the Vatican. The site is named after its own saintly watchdogs, the archangels Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel.