Who was Saint Isidore the Farmer?
Isidore was born almost a thousand years ago near Madrid, which was then a small town with fields all around it. His family was poor, so as a young man he went to work for a landowner named Juan de Vargas. Isidore never owned a field of his own. Every day he plowed someone else’s land with two big, patient oxen, so that wheat could grow and families could have bread.
Before he picked up his plow, Isidore always walked to church for Mass, very early, while the sky was still grey and pink. Some of the other workers grumbled that he came to the fields late, so the master went to see for himself. An old story says he found Isidore kneeling in prayer while two angels plowed beside him with snow-white oxen. From that day on, Juan de Vargas trusted Isidore like a good friend.
Isidore married a good woman named María, who is a saint too: Santa María de la Cabeza. They had a little son and not much money, but when a hungry person knocked, they set out another bowl of warm soup. Another old story says Isidore poured half his sack of wheat on the snow for hungry birds, and the sack was full again when he reached the mill. He died near Madrid in the 1100s, and in 1622 the Pope declared him a saint.
When is Saint Isidore the Farmer’s feast day?
Saint Isidore the Farmer’s feast day is May 15. Madrid, whose patron he is, celebrates with a big festival of music, dancing and picnics in the park. In villages in Spain and Latin America, families carry his statue through the fields and ask God to bless the harvest.
Clara tells the whole story at bedtime, in the Little Prayer Stories app.Get the app →
