Isidore the Laborer 1 Isidore the Laborer "San Isidro Labrador" redirects here. For the city in El Salvador, see San Isidro Labrador, Chalatenango. Saint Isidore Saint Isidore the Farmer Confessor Born c. 1070 Madrid, Kingdom of Castile Died May 15, 1130 (aged 59) or 1172 Madrid, Kingdom of Castile Honored in Roman Catholic Church Aglipayan Church Beatified May 2, 1619, Rome by Pope Paul V Canonized March 12, 1622, Rome by Pope Gregory XV [1] Feast May 15; October 25; March 22 Patronage Madrid agricultures; farmers; day labourers; San Isidro Cuz Cuz Carampa and Lima Angono, Malaybalay City, Cuenca, Digos, Brgy. San Isidro, San Pablo City Lucban, Mogpog, Morong, Nabas, Pulilan, Pulupandan, Moises Padilla, Sariaya, Talavera, Tayabas, San Isidro, Talisay City, Cebu Sabana Grande Castalla, Estepona, Madrid, Orotava, Valdepiélagos La Ceiba Isidore the Farm Labourer, also known as Isidore the Farmer, (Spanish: San Isidro Labrador), (c. 1070 – 15 May 1130) was a Spanish farmworker known for his piety toward the poor and animals. He is the Catholic patron saint of farmers and of Madrid and of La Ceiba, Honduras. His feast day is celebrated on 15 May. The Spanish word labrador means someone who works the land,[2][3] not a worker in general, which in Spanish would be obrero,[4][5] or trabajador.[6][7] His real name was Isidro de Merlo y Quintana. Isidore the Laborer 2 Biography Isidore was born in Madrid, in about the year 1070, of poor but very devout parents, and was christened Isidore from the name of their patron, St. Isidore of Seville. Isidore spent his life as a hired hand in the service of the wealthy Madrilenian landowner Juan de Vargas on a farm in the city's vicinity.[8] He shared what he had, even his meals, with the poor. Juan de Vargas would later make him bailiff of his entire estate of Lower Caramanca. It was said that he stood two meters tall. Isidore married Maria Torribia, known as Santa María de la Cabeza in Spain because her head (cabeza in Spanish) is often carried in procession, especially during droughts. Isidore and Maria had one son. On one occasion, their son fell into a deep well and, at the prayers of his parents, the water of the well is said to have risen miraculously to the level of the ground, bringing the child with it. In thanksgiving Isidore and Maria then vowed sexual abstinence and lived in separate houses. Their son later died in his youth. Isidore died on 15 May 1130, at his birthplace close to Madrid. Miracle stories Every morning before going to work, Isidore was accustomed to hear Mass at one of the churches in Madrid. One day, his fellow labourers complained to their master that Isidore was always late for work in the morning. Upon investigation, so runs the legend, the master found Isidore at prayer whilst an angel was doing the ploughing for him.[] On another occasion, his master saw an angel ploughing on either side of him, so that Isidore's work was equal to that of three of his fellow labourers. Isidore is also said to have brought back to life his master's deceased daughter, and to have caused a fountain of fresh water to burst from the dry earth to quench his master's thirst. One snowy day, when going to the mill with corn to be ground, he passed a flock of wood-pigeons scratching vainly for food on the hard surface of the frosty ground. Taking pity on the poor animals, he poured half of his sack of precious corn upon the ground for the birds, despite the mocking of witnesses. When he reached the mill, however, the bag was full, and the corn, when it was ground, produced double the expected amount of flour. (However, corn was not introduced to St Isidro and St. Maria Spain until the 15th century, perhaps it was originally wheat.) Isidore's wife, Maria, always kept a pot of stew on the fireplace in their humble home as Isidore would often bring home anyone who was hungry. One day he brought home more hungry people than usual. After she served many of them, Maria told him that there simply was no more stew in the pot. He insisted that she check the pot again, and she was able to spoon out enough stew to feed them all.[9] On 2 April 1212, after torrential rains had exhumed cadavers from cemeteries in Madrid, his body was discovered in an apparent state of incorruptibility.[10] He is said to have appeared to Alfonso VIII of Castile, and to have shown him the hidden path by which he surprised the Moors and gained the victory of Las Navas de Tolosa, in 1212. When King Philip III of Spain was cured of a deadly disease after touching the relics of the saint, the king replaced the old reliquary with a costly silver one and instigated the process of his beatification.[11] Throughout history, other members of the royal family would seek curative powers from the saint. Isidore the Laborer 3 The number of miracles attributed to him has been counted as 438.[12] The only original source of hagiography on him is a fourteenth century codex called Códice de Juan Diácono which relates five of his miracles: 1. The pigeons and the grain. 2. The angels ploughing. 3. The saving of his donkey, through prayer, from a wolf attack. 4. The account of his wife's pot of food. 5. A similar account of his feeding the brotherhood. The codex also attests to the incorruptible state of his body, stating it was exhumed 40 years after his death.[13] Veneration Isidore was beatified in Rome on 2 May 1619, by Pope Paul V. He was canonized nearly three years later by Pope Gregory XV, along with Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, and Philip Neri, on 12 March 1622.[14] In 1696, his relics were moved to the Royal Alcazar of Madrid to intervene on behalf of the health of Charles II of Spain. While there, the King's locksmith pulled a tooth from the body and gave it to the monarch, who slept with it under his pillow until his death. This was not the first, nor the last time his body was allegedly mutilated out of religious furor. For example, it was reported one of the ladies of the court of Isabella I of Castile bit off one of his toes. In 1760, his body was brought to the Royal Palace of Madrid during the illness of Maria Amalia of Saxony. In 1769, Charles III of Spain had the remains of Saint Isidore and his wife Maria relocated to the San Isidro Church, Madrid.[15] The sepulcher has nine locks and the King of Spain has the master key. As the opening of the sepulcher must be performed by the archbishop of San Isidro Labrador-Madrid Madrid and authorized by the King himself, it has not been opened since 1985.[16] Saint Isidore is widely venerated as the patron saint of farmers, peasants and day laborers. The cities of Madrid, Leon, Saragossa, and Seville honour him as their patron. The US National Catholic Rural Life Conference claims him as its patron.[17] San Ysidro, California and San Ysidro, New Mexico were named after him. His feast day is celebrated on 15 May. St. Isidore the Farmer is also honored on his day in Aglipayan Church (Philippine Independent Church). Patronage St. Isidore is the patron saint of farmers and brick layers. He is also the patron of Madrid. Iconography Saint Isidore is often portrayed as a peasant holding a sickle and a sheaf of corn. He might also be shown with a sickle and staff; as an angel plows for him; or with an angel and white oxen near him. In Spanish art his emblems are a spade or a plough. Legacy The story of St. Isidore is a reminder of the dignity of work, and that ordinary life can lead to holiness. Legends about angel helpers and mysterious oxen indicate that his work was not neglected and his duties did not go unfulfilled. St. Isidore's life demonstrates that: If you have your spiritual self in order, your earthly commitments will Isidore the Laborer 4 fall into order also."[18] The house of his master, Juan de Vargas, in Madrid is now a museum, popularly known as the "Casa de San Isidro". It houses temporary exhibitions on the history of Madrid, as well as on the life of the saint. It is not to be confused with the aforementioned San Isidro Church. Not only does this museum contain a chapel built upon the place where Isidore lived and died, but also the well where his son fell and was saved. Feast day celebrations and festivals The date of his liturgical feast, which, though not included in the General Roman Calendar, has been celebrated for centuries in several countries and dioceses, is 15 May.[19] Many towns venerate St Isidore and his wife Saint Maria Torribia with processions in which the fields are blessed. This is in the chapel built where he lived and died, in the Saint Isidore Museum in Saint Andrew's square in Madrid. Spain One of the most celebrated holidays of Madrid is held on May 15, the Feast Day of San Isidro who is the city's patron saint as well as the patron saint of farmers. The traditional festival and feast are held in an open-air area known as the Pradera del Santo.