# Patron Saints
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 30, 2000, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378 "2000-11-30T15:12:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2000, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/1 "2000-11-30T15:12:03Z")
You are NOT gonna believe this, but there is a patron saint of disputed elections, of all things.
Drumroll, please.
[/url=http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-20001130223428.htm]St. Chad of Lichfield, England.
I kid thee not.
PS: I’ve heard the Vatican has appoitned a patron saint of the Internet. Does anyone know who that is?
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### Author:  [@SpinneZiege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpinneZiege)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2000, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/2 "2000-11-30T15:24:59Z")
I just heard that they were looking for one. And since this saint will have to have accomplished three miracles **and** have died to be cannonized, it might be a while. Considering the reputation of past saints, I’d have to say that this saint will have to be a porn site operator, then find God, something like that.
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### Author:  [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2000, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/3 "2000-11-30T15:34:13Z")
[St Isadore of Seville, Patron Saint of computer technicians, computer users, computers, the Internet, schoolchildren, students](http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainti04.htm).
A Patron Saint doesn’t need to have lived in the time of what (s)he’s the Patron of (if said Patronage is a new technology, or an occupation that only exists because of a new technology). St Isadore, f’rinstance lived from 560-636 AD.
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/4 "2000-11-30T16:09:52Z")
[St. Chad of Lichfield, England.](http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-20001130223428.htm)
Sorry, dunno how that slash got in there.
St. Isidore ??? Wasn’t that (A Canticle For) Leibowitz’s first name? How perfect is THAT?
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### Author:  [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2000, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/5 "2000-11-30T22:04:33Z")
Just recently I read how the Vatican has appointed a patron saint of politicians. This is no joke. It is St. Thomas More, pretty appropriate if you ask me.
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### Author:  [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2000, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/6 "2000-11-30T22:19:46Z")
There is a fantastic and fun book, called Saints Preserve Us that is the best encyclopaedia of who is the saint of what.
I remember getting in huge trouble in CCD class when I wanted my confirmation name to be Jude, after the patron saint of lost causes - not because of the irony (I didn’t want to make my confirmation), but because Jude is a **boy’s** name and I’m a girl. So I went with the whore instead…
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### Author:  [@tisiphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tisiphone)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2000, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/7 "2000-11-30T23:47:17Z")
/hijack/
**magdalene** , according to the Gnostic Gospels, Mary Magdalene wasn’t a whore.
She was his wife. He being Jesus, of course.(I can’t remember the pluralization and apostrophe rules and don’t feel like looking them up right now 🙂 )
/end hijack/
We now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion.
Tisiphone
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### Author:  [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2000, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/8 "2000-12-01T01:01:43Z")
Well, since I _just happen_ to work in the religion department at the Public Library, and I _just happen_ to be at work tonight, I did some checking on St. Chad, including in Butler’s. He doesn’t appear to be the patron saint of anything in particular, and his name is properly spelled Caedda.
[http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintc24.htm](http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintc24.htm)
Nice try, Washington Times.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2000, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/9 "2000-12-01T03:27:56Z")
…And according to the canonical Gospels, there’s no evidence at all that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. There’s at least two mentions of Jesus dealing with a prostitute (he saves one from being stoned, and the other washes his feet with her hair, I believe). Although popular tradition has it that both women were the same and were, in fact, Mary Magdalene, there’s no Biblical evidence to support that.
Personally, my favorite patron saint is Scholastica, patroness of snow days. **black455** , is the story at least true about his election to bishop being disputed, or was that made up by the Times, as well, to support his being patron of disputed elections?
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### Author:  [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2000, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/10 "2000-12-01T04:29:09Z")
Can’t remember right now… thanks to a few of Latrobe’s finest… Butler’s had a rather long entry… I’ll check again tomorrow at work…
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### Author:  [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2000, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/11 "2000-12-01T18:28:14Z")
I’m not gonna type the whole thing out, but there were apparently some irregularities in his consecration as Bishop of York. When the irregularities were brought to his attention, he gracefully resigned his post; his superiors were so impressed with his humility and grace that they appointed him bishop of Mercia.
[sub]Paraphrased from \Butler’s Lives of the Saints\, 1999 edition, v3.[/sub]
Calling St. Chad the patron saint of disputed elections would probably be giving the two current contenders more credit than they deserve.
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### Author:  [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)
#### Post date: [December 4, 2000, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/patron-saints/43378/12 "2000-12-04T04:41:03Z")
Re: Mary Magdalene
[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/980918.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/980918.html)