St. Isidore is patron saint of farmers—he lived as a poor and faithful workman in Spain in the 12th century.

He was born in Madrid to a poor family who named him after the great scholar-saint Isidore of Seville. They were not able to provide education for their son, but they raised him with a firm faith and a strong devotion to prayer. As soon as he was old enough to work, Isidore was hired to a wealthy man from Madrid and he worked the rest of his life on the man’s estate outside of the city. He married a poor girl, Maria, and they bore one son.

Isidore’s devotion stretched into adulthood—he rose early every day to attend Mass, and he would commune with God in prayer during his labors throughout the day. He was generous to other poor people, often giving them what food he had and settling for their scraps.

Miracles were attributed to his prayer—on one occasion, he showed up late to a gathering with a small crowd of beggars. The hosts had saved enough food for him, but could not feed the others. Isidore was confident that there would be enough, and when all were seated and served, there was plenty.

Isidore is also known for a love of animals. During one winter, he was carrying a sack of corn to the mill to be ground to flour. Noticing all the hungry birds around him, he opened the sack and poured half of it on the ground for them. He was ridiculed for the waste, but when he reached the mill, the sack produced double the normal amount of flour.

Isidore died on this date in 1130, and a number of other miracles (438 are documented) were ascribed to his help—he assisted the king of Spain through a vision in a battle, for example, and his relics were associated with the healing of a later monarch.

His wife, Maria, lived another few years after Isidore’s death before she died (their son had died during his childhood). Though she has not yet been canonized, she is honored in Spain as “Santa Maria de la Cabeza” because her head (cabeza) was kept as a relic in a chapel and used in processions to pray for the end of drought.

Relics of St. Isidore the Farmer rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and he is patron of farmers and of the United States National Catholic Rural Life Conference.

St. Isidore the Farmer, you and your wife led a simple life of great faith that produced wonders—pray for us!