The saint most often named as the patron saint of the internet is St. Isidore of Seville (about 560–636), the bishop who compiled the first great encyclopedia of the Western world, and the young St. Carlo Acutis (1991–2006), the computer-loving teenager canonized in 2025, is now widely invoked as well. The Church has never officially named a patron of the internet, but Catholics have embraced both: Isidore for gathering all the knowledge of his age into one work, and Carlo for using the web to lead people to Jesus in the Eucharist. Below are their stories, other patron saints of technology, computers and communications, and prayers to pray before going online.
A short prayer before going online, written for this page:
Lord, as I go online, guard my eyes, my words and my time.
Help me to seek what is true, good and beautiful,
to treat everyone I meet here with charity,
and to log off when it is time to love the people in front of me.
St. Isidore and St. Carlo, pray for us. Amen.
St. Isidore of Seville
Isidore was born about 560 in Cartagena, Spain, into a family of saints: his brothers St. Leander and St. Fulgentius were bishops, and his sister St. Florentina was an abbess. He succeeded Leander as archbishop of Seville about 600 and led the Church in Visigothic Spain for more than thirty-five years, presiding at councils, founding schools, and helping to unite the Gothic and Roman peoples in one Catholic faith.
His great work, the Etymologies, gathered in twenty books what was known in his time about grammar, rhetoric, mathematics, medicine, law, history, theology, geography, animals, stones, ships, buildings and much more. It was copied in monasteries everywhere and was one of the most used books of the Middle Ages, a kind of database of ancient learning. The Eighth Council of Toledo called him “the most learned man of the latter ages.” He died on April 4, 636, and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1722.
Because he organized the knowledge of the world for others to use, St. Isidore has been proposed since the late 1990s as the patron of the internet, of computer users and of programmers, and many Catholics invoke him that way, although no official declaration has been made. His feast day is April 4.
The collect said for his feast in the 1916 daily missal, from the Mass for a Doctor of the Church:
O God, who didst give unto thy people blessed Isidore to be a minister of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech thee, that we may be found worthy to have for intercessor in heaven one whom we have had for a teacher of life upon earth. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God world without end. Amen.
St. Carlo Acutis
St. Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who taught himself programming, built a website that became a traveling exhibition on the Eucharistic miracles of the world. He died of leukemia at fifteen in 2006 and was canonized on September 7, 2025. Young people call him “God’s influencer,” and many think of him as a patron for the internet age. His feast is October 12. See the St. Carlo Acutis prayer.
Other patron saints of technology and communications
- St. Clare of Assisi (August 11), named patron of television by Pope Pius XII in 1958, because when she was too ill to go to Mass she saw and heard it on the wall of her room. See the St. Clare prayer.
- St. Gabriel the Archangel (September 29), the messenger of God, patron of telecommunications, postal workers and broadcasters. See the Feast of the Archangels.
- St. Francis de Sales (January 24), patron of writers and journalists, who slipped pamphlets under doors when people would not come to hear him preach. See the St. Francis de Sales prayer.
- St. Maximilian Kolbe (August 14), who used printing presses and radio to spread the Gospel, invoked by journalists and radio operators. See the St. Maximilian Kolbe prayer.
Prayers for the internet age
Written for this page.
Prayer to St. Isidore before using the internet
St. Isidore, you gathered the knowledge of your age to serve the truth.
Pray for me as I search and read, write and share online.
Help me to find what is true, to avoid what is harmful,
and to use these tools for the glory of God and the good of others. Amen.
For programmers and people who work in technology
Lord, bless the work of my hands and mind.
Help me to build things that are honest, safe and useful,
to respect the people who will use them,
and to remember that every line of code can serve you. Amen.
For a healthy digital life
Jesus, you spent forty days in the desert and often went away alone to pray.
Help me to put down my phone, to rest from screens,
and to give my best attention to you and to the people I love. Amen.
See also the St. Carlo Acutis prayer for the right use of the internet.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the patron saint of the internet?
St. Isidore of Seville is the saint most often proposed as patron of the internet, though the Church has never officially named one. St. Carlo Acutis, canonized in 2025, is also widely invoked.
Who is the patron saint of computers?
St. Isidore of Seville is usually named as the patron of computers, computer users and programmers.
Who is the patron saint of technology?
St. Isidore of Seville and St. Carlo Acutis are invoked for technology in general; St. Clare is patron of television and St. Gabriel of telecommunications.
When is the feast of St. Isidore of Seville?
April 4.
More patron saints
- Patron saint of gamers
- St. Carlo Acutis prayer
- Patron saints of sports and hobbies
- Patron saints of professions
- St. Clare prayer
- St. Isidore the Farmer
- Unusual patron saints
Texts and sources
- The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916), Common of a Doctor of the Church, Collect, with St. Isidore’s name inserted as the rubric directs.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “St. Isidore of Seville,” public domain (Wikisource).