MamaBugBlogs

Did you know there is a patroness of the TV?

Well, there is: Clare of Assisi.

I'm not Catholic, and I've been very forthright on this matter here.  So I don't know my saints and patrons like others I'm sure, but I am very curious why an inanimate object needs a patron(ess).  People...yes; countries...yes; causes....yes.  But an object to which countless hours of meaningless junk is transmitted?  Really Pope Pius XII?

Clare of Assisi (1193 - 1253), born Chiara Offreduccio, is one of St. Francis of Assisi's first followers and an Italian Saint.  According to what I read online, Clare's life was extremely Christ-centered and selfless.  She founded the Order of the Poor Ladies, and wrote the Rule of Life - "the first monastic rule known to have been written by a woman."  From what we know about the respect and treatment of women in the 12th century, this is a huge deal.  She obviously was extremely intelligent and very wise to have impressed the monastic rulers of the time.  Upon her death, the Order of the Poor Ladies as renamed the Order of Saint Clare. 

So where does the television come into play?  Well, apparently Clare became ill and wasn't able to attend mass.  However, projected on the wall of the common room she saw and heard mass.  She was even able to identify the priests, because the image was so clear.

She was made a saint upon her death, but in 1958 she was made the patroness of the television.  I suppose because she saw mass on the wall, pretty much the way TV is projected today.  However, rather than question why this woman is a patroness, the question is: why does the television need a saint in the first place?

So...what is a patron saint?  According to Wikipedia: A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person. Patron saints, because they have already transcended to the metaphysical, are believed to be able to intercede effectively for the needs of their special charges.

So...no mention of inanimate objects like a television, radio, couch, etc.  Further research proved that Television has three patron attributed to it: Gabriel the Archangel, Martin de Porres, and Clare of Assisi.  Of course then there are the different sub-sections of television: writers and workers.  Clare appears as the patron of television writers and Gabriel as the patron of television workers.  I completely understand the idea of a career patron, but television is an object.  Unless the TV asks Clare to be its intercessor of prayers, I cannot imagine why it needs a patroness.

I did find there is a patron saint for most everything you can imagine.  Skin conditions, all careers, animals, people of all walks of life, and every country, city, and town.  But I could never figure out why a TV needed a patroness.

If someone out in the blog world has an idea, I am completely open to hear the reasons.  Thanks!