Making space for a saint

By Tony Staley
Compass Editor

One of the "must" places to be - especially for teens through at least 20- or 30-somethings - is MySpace.

Add St. Augustine of Hippo to the list of those with a page on the popular social networking Website where users post pictures and information about themselves.

While Augustine may skew a bit old for the site - his age is listed at 42 (his age when he wrote his famous Confessions), though the posted portrait makes him look 60-70 - the fifth-century Doctor of the Church is posted on MySpace along with more than 100 million other users.

Of course, St. Augustine (354-430) didn't put himself on MySpace. That was the work of Michael Dolan, director of communications for the Augustinians of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova. Dolan said he started the page to introduce visitors to St. Augustine and the Augustinians.

Dolan plans to gradually add Confessions to the page as a daily blog starting Aug. 28, the saint's feast.

To see it, go to www.myspace.com/saintaugustineofhippo.