April 4th - ST. ISIDORE OF SEVILLE By: Jeff Joyal

St Isidore Seville was a Spanish bishop in 600 AD.

Isidore was actually born into a family of saints, with his older two brothers and sister also being revered as saints in Spain. However, things weren’t easy for Isidore growing up. His older brother Leander took it upon himself to educate Isidore, and his teaching sometimes became abusive. Isidore even ran away once out of frustration, but he returned home, realizing that he could succeed in his studies if he tried hard enough. Isidore eventually forgave his older brother for what was done to him.
Later, during their adult life, when his brother Leander had become a bishop, Isidore traveled around the country establishing a seminary in every diocese in Spain, in order to promote education. Isidore was a big supporter of educating everyone on basic sciences( of that time of course) .
At the age of 37, when succeed Leander and became bishop, where he instituted a more representative form of church government( the church had significant power over the government during the Middle Ages). At the time of his death, Isidore made sure to give all of his belongings to the poor. He died at the age of 80 in the year 636.
In 1997, Pope John Paul II declares St Isidore if Seville the patron saint of the internet, because of how St Isidore tried to publish every piece of knowledge about everything in his very own encyclopedia that was published after his death.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER 

Prayer of St Isidore of Seville Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Thy image and bade us to seek after all that is good,  true and beautiful, especially in the divine person of Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,Grant we beseech Thee that through the intercession of Saint Isidore, bishop and doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee, and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.