| Saint Isidore | |
|---|---|
Saint Isidore the Farmer |
|
| Confessor | |
| Born | c. 1070 Madrid, Kingdom of Castile |
| Died | May 15, 1130 (aged 59) 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 |
| Feast | May 15;[1] October 25; March 22 |
| Patronage |
farmers; day laborers; San Isidro Cuz CuzLa Ceiba |
Isidore the Laborer, also known as Isidore the Farmer, (Spanish: San Isidro Labrador), (c. 1070 – 15 May 1130) was a Spanish day laborer known for his goodness toward the poor and animals. He is the Catholic patron saint of farmers and of Madrid and of La Ceiba, Honduras.
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Isidore was born to very poor parents in Madrid, about the year 1070. He was in the service of the wealthy Madrid landowner Juan de Vargas on a farm in the vicinity of Madrid. Juan de Vargas would later make him bailiff of his entire estate of Lower Caramanca.
Every morning before going to work, Isidore was accustomed to hearing a Mass at one of the churches in Madrid. One day his fellow-laborers 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 while an angel was doing the plowing for him.
On another occasion, his master saw an angel plowing on either side of him, so that Isidore's work was equal to that of three of his fellow-laborers. 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 in order to quench his master's thirst.
St. Isidore married Maria Torribia, a canonized saint, who is 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, who died in his youth. 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, alive and well. Isidore and Maria then vowed sexual abstinence and lived in separate houses.
Isidore died on May 15, 1130, at his birthplace close to Madrid. When King Philip III of Spain was cured of a deadly disease by touching the relics of the saint, the king replaced the old reliquary with a costly silver one.
Isidore was beatified in Rome on May 2, 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 March 12, 1622.
San Ysidro, California and San Ysidro, New Mexico were named after him, as is the territory of Labrador in Canada.
His master Juan de Vargas's house in Madrid is now a museum with temporary exhibitions on Madrilenian subjects, as well as on the life of the saint.
Saint Isidore is widely venerated as the patron saint of peasants and day laborers, as he had been one himself. In 1947, at the request of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, he was officially named patron of farmers, with a feast day on May 10 in all dioceses of the United States, with a proper Mass and Office.
The traditional 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 May 15. When St. Isidore's feast was first inserted into the calendar for the United States in the year 1947, the feast day of Saint John Baptist de La Salle is still celebrated on May 15, with the result that the celebration of his feast was assigned to March 22. With the reform of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1969, St. Isidore's feast was restored to the May 15 date and celebrated as an Optional Memorial. In some places within the United States and Canada, his feast is celebrated on October 25, and in other locations and among Traditional Roman Catholics the March 22 date is retained.[2]
Many towns venerate St. Isidore and his wife Saint Maria Torribia with processions in which the fields are blessed.
In Corrales, New Mexico the town celebrates San Ysidro Fest day on May 15. Matachina's dance through the street and fiesta is a big part in the city.
In Madrid, his birth city, which he is the Patron Saint of, a pilgrimage is celebrated surrounding the St. Isidore hermitage, in the district of Carabanchel, every May, 15. Also a major city party is celebrated in the city during this week.
In La Orotava (Canary Islands), the greatest porno honor Isidore and Maria. The "Dance of Magos" (mago Spanish for "magician", but also used for "farmer" in Guanche), the "Blessing of the cattle", and finally the Romería, or pilgrimage, are all celebrated to honor both patrons of this important city of the Canaries.
Celebrations honoring both saints are also held elsewhere on the islands. For years, the Alicantine locality of Castalla has been celebrating the Fair of San Isidro, where numerous companies display their products in a playful and festive atmosphere. A medieval swap meet and mechanical attractions are especially popular.
A large celebration is held in Estepona, (near Marbella) in Andalucia, where locals celebrate the day by drinking a mix of brandy and a popular energy drink - which is named in his honour. This has led to St. Isidore often being termed as the patron saint of krunk (because of the name of this combination drink in the US).
The Romeria festival in Almogia, a pueblo blanco in the campo north of Malaga (about halfway between Malaga and Antequera) in Andalucia, celebrates San Isidro, its patron saint, on the middle weekend of May with a fiesta carnival. Floats from the surrounding farming communities, accompanied by traditionally dressed ladies in 'flamenco' dresses and caballeros on dancing horses, sing and dance from Almogia to the Romeria ground a few kilometres north of the village and the festival includes music, traditional horse races, a bar for horses as well as their riders, and much parading of costume and finery. The best-dressed float is awarded a prize.
May 15 is San Isidro Day in Cuz-Cuz, about five kilometers from the city of Illapel, Choapa province, in the Coquimbo region of Chile. If the day falls on a Monday, the following Sunday is celebrated. Celebrations begin at noon with a Mass, followed by a procession and Chilean dances.
The residents of San Isidro de Carampá of Ayacucho in the city of Lima celebrate a San Isidro festival. The First Society of San Isidro de Carampá organizes the festival, along with the Butler and the Adornante festivals. In the evening, after the celebration of the Mass, a procession moves to the house of the Adornante. On the next day, Central Day, another Mass is said, this time celebrated by the Butler. Another procession is held, followed by a festival.
Throughout the Philippine archipelago, several feast are celebrated and offered to St. Isidore. Among them are:
St. Isidore the farmer is also honored on his day in Aglipayan Church(Philippine Independent Church).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). "St. Isidore the Labourer". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.