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In our family home, we have a running joke about my parents calling me or my siblings whenever they have a technology problem. “The router’s not working!” or “How do I save this document?” We’ve become the default tech support. This experience got me thinking about how we use technology as Catholics in today’s digital environment.
Technology itself—whether it’s smartphones, artificial intelligence, or social media—is morally neutral. Like a hammer, car, or telephone, these tools aren’t inherently good or evil. It’s how we choose to use them that matters. This perspective isn’t new to Catholic thinking. The Church has always recognized that human innovation serves a purpose in God’s plan when used properly.
While seeking digital balance, I discovered we have spiritual guides for this journey too. The communion of saints offers us models for using technology virtuously, even saints who lived long before the internet age.
Saint Isidore of Seville: The Ancient Patron of the Internet
“The 7th century patron saint of the internet seems odd, but Saint Isidore of Seville connects logically to our digital world.
In 1997, Pope John Paul II named him internet patron because his writing structure resembled modern databases. Isidore’s greatest work, the Etymologiae, was essentially an early encyclopedia that attempted to compile all known knowledge. His organizational approach anticipated our digital information systems by over a millennium.
What strikes me most about Isidore wasn’t just his intellectual achievements but his heart for unity. After years of war in Spain, Isidore worked tirelessly to bring peace and unite Christians throughout the region. Pope Benedict XVI noted in his 2008 General Audience that Isidore’s wealth of cultural knowledge allowed him to “constantly compare the Christian newness with the Greco-Roman cultural heritage.”
This mission of unity perfectly parallels the original vision for the internet—connecting people across distances and differences. When I scroll through divisive comment sections or see how technology sometimes drives us apart, I remember Isidore’s example. Technology should be a tool for building bridges, not walls.
Often called the “Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages,” Isidore established schools and seminaries to form newly converted Visigoths in the faith. His reputation was so profound that the 15th Council of Toledo in 688 called him “the extraordinary doctor, the latest ornament of the Catholic Church, the most learned man of the latter ages, always to be named with reverence.”
When I feel overwhelmed by information overload or distracted by endless notifications, I try to ask: How would Isidore approach this digital world? Would he use it to unite or divide? To educate or distract? To lift others up or tear them down?
Blessed Carlo Acutis: A Modern Saint for the Digital Age
Saint Isidore offers a timeless view on technology, while Blessed Carlo Acutis models virtue in our digital age. The Church has recognized Carlo’s extraordinary witness, and I’m overjoyed that he will be canonized on April 27, 2025. Soon we’ll be able to call him “Saint Carlo” — a modern patron for our digital age!
In July 2024, I attended the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. Among 50,000 Catholics celebrating the Eucharist, the Eucharistic Miracles exhibit, inspired by Carlo, drew huge crowds. Some waited over 90 minutes to see it.
While standing in line, I experienced a life-changing encounter with a California gentleman who shared his conversion story. By the time we reached the exhibit, we felt genuine kinship and the beauty and detail of Carlo’s Eucharistic catalog from his short life moved us both.
I first encountered Carlo’s legacy on October 24, 2022, when I prayed before the Blessed Sacrament and heard a presentation about him at my parish. His story resonated deeply with me as a parent trying to guide children through a digital world.
What makes Carlo so remarkable is how he balanced technology with spiritual priorities. Often called “the first millennial saint,” Carlo used his computer programming skills to create websites documenting Eucharistic miracles around the world. Yet despite his technological aptitude, he maintained clear boundaries.
Carlo enforced a strict one-hour gaming limit for himself and friends. His discipline highlights my tendency to check my phone mindlessly and let technology interfere with prayer and family time.
Finding Balance in Our Digital Lives
These saints—one ancient, one modern—show us that technology should serve us, not vice versa. When my son fixates on screens or I scroll through social media instead of praying, I recall Carlo’s example of moderation.
When my oldest son gets fixated on screen time or I catch myself scrolling through social media instead of saying evening prayers, I try to remember Carlo’s example of moderation. Technology should enhance our humanity and our faith, not diminish it.
As parents, we often worry about how screens affect our children. Saint Isidore and Blessed Carlo teach us to focus on proper formation in technology use, not rejection. Like Isidore creating schools for new Christians, we must actively develop digital virtue in ourselves and our families.
Here are some practical ways I’ve tried to follow these saints’ examples:
- Set clear boundaries: Like Carlo’s one-hour rule, establish specific times for technology use and times for disconnect.
- Pursue unity: Following Isidore’s example, use social media to build up the Body of Christ rather than participate in divisive arguments.
- Create digital sabbaths: Our family tries to have screen-free Sundays (or at least Sunday evenings) to prioritize worship and family time.
- Pray before logging on: Consider this prayer inspired by Saint Isidore: Almighty and eternal God, who created us in Thy image and called us to seek after all that is good, true and beautiful, especially in your Son Jesus Christ, grant through the intercession of Saint Isidore that during our time online, we direct our attention only to that which pleases You and treat with charity all those we encounter. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
- Use technology for evangelization: Both Isidore and Carlo used the tools of their time to spread knowledge of the faith. How might we do the same?
Technology for the Greater Glory of God
The emergence of artificial intelligence has raised new questions about technology’s role in our lives. When I first experimented with AI tools, I found myself both amazed and concerned. As with any technology, AI itself isn’t inherently good or evil—it’s how we use it that matters.
The Church, in its wisdom, has been reflecting deeply on these questions. In the recent Vatican document Antiqua et Nova, we find important guidance:
“The Church’s moral and social teaching provides resources to help ensure that AI is used in a way that preserves human agency. Considerations about justice, for example, should also address issues such as fostering just social dynamics, upholding international security, and promoting peace. By exercising prudence, individuals and communities can discern ways to use AI to benefit humanity while avoiding applications that could degrade human dignity or harm the environment.
Church Guidance on Digital Responsibility
In this context, the concept of responsibility should be understood not only in its most limited sense but as a ‘responsibility for the care for others, which is more than simply accounting for results achieved.'” (Paragraph 47)
This emphasis on responsibility and care for others resonates deeply with me. It’s not enough to simply avoid the harmful applications of technology—we’re called to actively use these tools for the good of humanity.
The document further reminds us that in navigating these complex questions: “In a world marked by AI, we need the grace of the Holy Spirit, who ‘enables us to look at things with God’s eyes, to see connections, situations, events and to uncover their real meaning.'” (Paragraph 115)
How profound! Beyond human wisdom, we need divine guidance to use technology rightly and grasp its deeper meanings.
Will we use AI to serve the common good and the greater glory of God? Or will we allow it to replace human connection and creativity? These are questions we must wrestle with as faithful Catholics in a digital age.
What comforts me is knowing that the same principles apply: moderation, intentionality, and keeping our eyes fixed on Christ. Whether it’s social media, video games, or artificial intelligence, technology must remain our servant, not our master.
Saint Isidore of Seville and Blessed Carlo Acutis—separated by nearly 1,400 years but united in their faith—show us that we can embrace innovation while staying rooted in eternal truths. Their examples remind us that even our digital lives can be offered up for the glory of God and the building of His kingdom. Just as Isidore and Carlo used their tools for evangelization, Truthly helps Catholics do the same today.
As I close my laptop each night and set my phone aside, I try to remember Carlo’s wisdom: “Not me, but God.” Technology, like everything else in creation, finds its proper place when it leads us closer to Him.
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