ISIDORE THE LABORER

:''"San Isidro Labrador" redirects here. For the city in El Salvador, see San Isidro Labrador, Chalatenango.''
'Saint Isidore the Laborer' or 'the Labourer', also known as 'Isidore the Farmer', or 'San Isidro Labrador' in Spanish, (c. 1070–May 15, 1130), was a Spanish day laborer known for his goodness toward the poor and animals. He is the Catholic patron saint of farmers and Madrid.

Contents

Biography

Veneration

Legacy

Celebrations and festivals

Spain (Canary Islands)

Chile

Peru

Philippines

Sources and external links

Biography

Isidore was born to very poor parents near 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 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 in order to quench his master's thirst.
He 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 continence and lived in separate houses.
Another of the many miracles attributed to the saint is the famous one of the Angels: according to testimony for Isidore's canonization, Iván de Vargas remarked how, after Isidore was delayed from work because he stopped to pray in local churches, two Angels helped the saint to plow more and faster than his fellow workers.
Isidore died on 15 May, 1130, at his birthplace near Madrid.

Veneration

Legacy

Forty years after Isidore's death, his body was transferred from the cemetery to the Church of St. Andrew.
Isidore is said to have appeared to King Alfonso VIII of Castile, and shown him the hidden path by which he surprised the Moors and gained victory in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, on 16 July 1212.
When 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.
He was canonized by Pope Gregory XV, along with Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa, and Philip Neri, on 12 March, 1622.
San Ysidro, California and San Ysidro, New Mexico were named after him.
His liturgical feast is celebrated on 15 May.
His master Iván 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.
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 March 22 in all dioceses of the US, with a proper Mass and Office.
Isidore is also the patron of numerous cities and villages, including:

★ The Spanish cities of Madrid (the capital), Leon, Saragossa, Estepona (province of Málaga), and Seville

★ San Isidro, in the province of Buenos Aires, (Argentina)

★ Orotava, in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)

★ Carampa, in the district of Alcamenca, province of Victor Fajardo Ayacucho (Peru)

★ Sabana Grande, in the southwest of ([Puerto Rico]), US

★ Nabas, a municipality of Aklan province in the Philippinces.

★ La Ceiba, the capital city of the department of Atlántida in Honduras

Celebrations and festivals

Many towns venerate Isidore and his wife Maria Torribia with processions in which the fields are blessed.

Spain (Canary Islands)

In Orotava, the greatest celebrations honor Isidore and Maria. The "Dance of ''Magos''" (''mago'' being 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.

Chile

May 15th is San Isidro Day in Cuz-Cuz, about 5 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 Chinese dances.

Peru

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.

Philippines

Throughout the Philippine archipelago, several feast were celebrated and offered to St. Isidore. Among of them are:

★ The 'Nabas Bariw Festival' is celebrated to commemorate the feast day of St. Isidore the Farmer, the patron saint of Nabas, a municipality of Aklan province in the Visayas. It is celebrated annually from May 12 – 15. This celebration showcase the town's hat, mat and other bariw products as well as the town's unique tourism sites and natural attractions.

★ Also, May 15th celebrates the fiesta of San Isidro de Labrador in 'Talavera', Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Talavera is a 1st class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, one of the top producers of agricultural goods in the country. Its principal crops are rice, corn, and onion. The province is often referred to as the “Rice Granary of the Philippines". The feast begins a few days before the feast day, celebrated with a week-long of festivities, including daily novena, masses, processions, entertainment events and a fair (or perya). The fiesta is held on the actual day.

Sources and external links

★ St. Isadore entry on Catholic-forum.com

★ http://crl.nmsu.edu/Research/Projects/retablos/san_ysidro_labrador.html

★ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08189a.htm

★ Visitors guide to the Fiestas San Isidro in Madrid