In many countries of the world, Internet Day is celebrated annually on April 4, which in 1998 was sanctioned by Pope John Paul II and timed to the day of the performance of St. Isidore of Seville. However, the patron saint of the Internet has not yet been officially approved.
Catholic Saint Isidore of Seville (c. 560 — April 4, 636), Bishop of Seville, gained popularity not only because of his piety, but also because of his love of science. He is the author of one of the first books on etymology, the first to present the works of Aristotle in Spain, was a reformer and a man of broad views.
Saint Isidore is considered one of the last ancient Christian philosophers, as well as the last of the fathers of the great Latin Church. Some historians call St. Isidore the most educated person of his time, who influenced his studies in the Middle Ages.
As mentioned above, Isidore of Seville is the author of the 20-volume work «Etymology» (Etymologiae). It was, in fact, the first encyclopedia in the world. In it, in order to explain the meaning and origin of words, a huge amount of material was collected, covering the entire amount of knowledge of the day.
Saint Isidore is considered the patron saint of pupils and students, and in 2003 Pope John Paul II also called Saint Isidore the patron saint of computer and Internet users.
The Catholic Church chose him as the patron saint of the Internet, based primarily on the fact that the — World Wide Web is a huge treasury of practical and theoretical human knowledge.
Tireless webmasters and Internet developers also celebrate their professional holiday today. This holiday is still unofficial, but year after year it is becoming more and more popular. And the calendar date — April 4 — «4.04» — creates an excellent prerequisite for strengthening the traditions of celebrating this day.