.jpg)
Alonso
Cano (1601–1667), El milagro del pozo, circa 1638, 216 x 149, Museo del Prado. La obra representa un pasaje
de la vida de San Isidro Labrador y de su
esposa, Santa María de la Cabeza, ya que en una
ocasión en que su hijo había caído a un pozo, las oraciones de sus padres
consiguieron que el agua del mismo subiera hasta devolver a la superficie al
niño.
Saint Isidore le
Laboureur
Paysan (+ 1130)
Lui et sa femme, Maria Toribia furent toute leur vie domestiques de ferme chez
le seigneur Vergas dans la région de Madrid. Chaque dimanche, après la
grand-messe dont il chantait la liturgie au lutrin, il passait sa journée en
prière. Chaque jour il prenait sur son sommeil le temps d'aller à la messe
avant de se rendre à son travail. Son maître voulut se rendre compte qu'il ne
perdait pas ainsi des heures précieuses. Il vint un matin et, tandis qu'Isidore
était en extase, il vit les bœufs continuant leur travail, comme s'ils étaient
conduits par deux anges. C'est au roi Philippe III d'Espagne que l'on doit
d'avoir un laboureur authentique dans le calendrier, car il avait été guéri par
son intercession.
Le 12 mars 1622, le pape Grégoire XV canonisait simultanément saints Ignace de
Loyola, sainte Thérèse d'Avila, saint François Xavier, saint Philippe Néri
et... saint Isidore!
Il fait partie des Saints patrons des JMJ de Madrid.
À Madrid, vers 1130, saint Isidore, le laboureur. Avec son épouse, la
bienheureuse Turibia, il travailla la terre avec ardeur et recueillit avec
patience davantage les fruits du ciel que ceux de la terre, offrant le modèle
d’un paysan chrétien très pieux.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1129/Isidore-le-Laboureur.html
.jpg)
Francesc Ribalta (1565–1628), San Isidro Labrador, circa 1600, 179 x 109, Museu de Belles Arts de València
Saint Isidore le
laboureur
Modèle d’un paysan
chrétien très pieux
(1070-1130)
Isidore naît à Madrid, en Espagne, de parents très pauvres qui ne purent le faire étudier, mais lui apprirent à aimer Dieu et à détester le péché. L'enfant devint bientôt très habile dans cette science, la meilleure de toutes. Quand il fut en âge de travailler, il se plaça comme laboureur chez un riche habitant de la ville, nommé Jean de Vargas.
Plus tard, il épousa une femme aussi pauvre et aussi vertueuse que lui, et il eut un enfant auquel il enseigna le service de Dieu. Un jour, cet enfant tomba dans un puits ; ses parents, désolés, adressèrent au Ciel de si ferventes prières, que l'eau du puits s'élevant jusqu'en haut, y apporta cet enfant plein de vie et de santé. En reconnaissance, les deux époux se séparèrent et vouèrent à Dieu une continence perpétuelle.
Quoique occupé du
grossier travail de mener la charrue, Isidore n'en avait pas moins des heures
fixes et réglées pour ses exercices de piété. Les jours ordinaires, après avoir
passé une partie de la nuit en oraison, il se levait de grand matin et s'en allait
visiter les principales églises de Madrid ; les jours de fête étaient
entièrement consacrés à suivre les offices et à prier.
Jamais il ne négligeait
en rien son travail ; malgré cela, ses compagnons l'accusèrent auprès du
maître, qui voulut s'assurer par lui-même de la vérité ; il regarda Isidore
travailler, et vit deux Anges qui l’aidaient. Dès lors, Jean de Vargas conçut
la plus grande estime pour son serviteur, et les bénédictions du Ciel se
répandirent sur sa maison.
Isidore opéra des miracles en sa faveur ; il rendit la vie à un cheval dont on avait grand besoin; la fille de Jean de Vargas étant morte à la suite d'une maladie douloureuse, il la ressuscita. Un jour, en frappant du pied la terre, il fit jaillir, afin d'étancher la soif de son maître, une fontaine qui coule encore. À la suite de ces miracles, Jean de Vargas se déchargea sur Isidore du soin de sa maison.
Isidore était pauvre, et cependant il trouvait le moyen de se montrer libéral envers les indigents ; il partageait avec eux son dîner, et un jour qu'il avait tout donné, il pria sa femme d'aller voir s'il ne restait pas quelque chose : celle-ci trouva le plat qui venait d'être vidé, aussi plein que si personne n'y eût touché. Une autre fois, il avait été invité à un dîner de confrérie, et ses dévotions le retinrent si longtemps, qu'il arriva quand tout était fini.
Une multitude de pauvres le suivaient comptant sur ses restes. Les confrères lui dirent, d'assez mauvaise humeur, qu'on lui avait gardé sa part, mais qu'il n'y avait rien pour les mendiants. « C'est assez, répondit-il, cela suffira pour moi et pour les pauvres de Jésus-Christ. » En effet, on trouva un repas entier là où on n'avait mis de côté que quelques morceaux.
La femme d’Isidore, de son côté, donnait des marques d'une sainteté aussi grande que celle de son mari. Elle aussi faisait des miracles. Retirée dans un petit héritage, près de l'ermitage de Caraquiz, elle avait à traverser une rivière pour se rendre à une église de la Sainte Vierge qu'elle fréquentait assidûment. Un jour, elle trouva cette rivière débordée, et, avec une entière confiance dans la puissance de Dieu, elle détacha son tablier, l'étendit sur les eaux, et, à l'aide de cette barque d'un nouveau genre, passa tranquillement à l'autre bord.
Isidore meurt avant sa
femme, en 1170, et on l'enterra sous une gouttière, dans le cimetière de
Saint-André, où il fut oublié quarante ans. Alors il apparut à une dame
vertueuse pour la presser de procurer l'élévation et la translation de son
corps. Quand on l'eut retiré de terre, il fut trouvé aussi frais et aussi sain
que s'il venait de mourir ; un parfum de délicieuse odeur embauma les airs, et
toutes les cloches sonnèrent d'elles-mêmes. L'église de Saint-André fut choisie
pour recevoir ses saintes reliques ; on y vit un grand concours de peuple ; de
nombreux miracles s'opérèrent et firent croître et grandir la dévotion à saint
Isidore.
SOURCE : https://levangileauquotidien.org/FR/display-saint/ce308412-cde5-429b-8f64-3d5595e965b9
Francisco Goya (1746–1828), Aparición de San Isidoro al Rey Fernando el Santo ante los muros de Sevilla, circa 1798, 360 x 400, National Museum of Fine Arts , Buenos Aires, Recoleta
SAINT ISIDORE le
LABOUREUR
Confesseur
(+ 1170)
Saint Isidore naquit à
Madrid, en Espagne, de parents très pauvres qui ne purent le faire étudier,
mais lui apprirent à aimer Dieu et à détester le péché. L'enfant devint bientôt
très habile dans cette science, la meilleure de toutes. Quand il fut en âge de
travailler, il se plaça comme laboureur chez un riche habitant de la ville,
nommé Jean de Vargas.
Plus tard, il épousa une
femme aussi pauvre et aussi vertueuse que lui, et il eut un enfant auquel il
enseigna le service de Dieu. Un jour, cet enfant tomba dans un puits; ses
parents, désolés, adressèrent au Ciel de si ferventes prières, que l'eau du
puits s'élevant jusqu'en haut, y apporta cet enfant plein de vie et de santé.
En reconnaissance, les deux époux se séparèrent et vouèrent à Dieu une
continence perpétuelle.
Quoiqu’ occupé du
grossier travail de mener la charrue, saint Isidore n'en avait pas moins des
heures fixes et réglées pour ses exercices de piété. Les jours ordinaires,
après avoir passé une partie de la nuit en oraison, il se levait de grand matin
et s'en allait visiter les principales églises de Madrid; les jours de fête étaient
entièrement consacrés à suivre les offices et à prier.
Jamais il ne négligeait
en rien son travail; malgré cela, ses compagnons l'accusèrent auprès du maître,
qui voulut s'assurer par lui-même de la vérité; il regarda Isidore travailler,
et vit deux Anges aider le Saint. Dès lors, Jean de Vargas conçut la plus
grande estime pour son serviteur, et les bénédictions du Ciel se répandirent
sur sa maison. Saint Isidore opéra des miracles en sa faveur; il rendit la vie
à un cheval dont on avait grand besoin; la fille de Jean de Vargas étant morte
à la suite d'une maladie douloureuse, il la ressuscita. Un jour, en frappant du
pied la terre, il fit jaillir, afin d'étancher la soif de son maître, une
fontaine qui coule encore. À la suite de ces miracles, Jean de Vargas se
déchargea sur saint Isidore du soin de sa maison.
Saint Isidore était
pauvre, et cependant il trouvait le moyen de se montrer libéral envers les
indigents; il partageait avec eux son dîner, et un jour qu'il avait tout donné,
il pria sa femme d'aller voir s'il ne restait pas quelque chose: celle-ci
trouva le plat qui venait d'être vidé, aussi plein que si personne n'y eût
touché. Une autre fois, il avait été invité à un dîner de confrérie, et ses
dévotions le retinrent si longtemps, qu'il arriva quand tout était fini.
Une multitude de pauvres
le suivaient comptant sur ses restes. Les confrères lui dirent, d'assez
mauvaise humeur, qu'on lui avait gardé sa part, mais qu'il n'y avait rien pour
les mendiants. "C'est assez, répondit-il, cela suffira pour moi et pour les
pauvres de Jésus-Christ." En effet, on trouva un repas entier là où on
n'avait mis de côté que quelques morceaux.
La femme de saint
Isidore, de son côté, donnait des marques d'une sainteté aussi grande que celle
de son mari. Elle aussi faisait des miracles. Retirée dans un petit héritage,
près de l'ermitage de Caraquiz, elle avait à traverser une rivière pour se
rendre à une église de la Sainte Vierge qu'elle fréquentait assidûment. Un
jour, elle trouva cette rivière débordée, et, avec une entière confiance dans
la puissance de Dieu, elle détacha son tablier, l'étendit sur les eaux, et, à
l'aide de cette barque d'un nouveau genre, passa tranquillement à l'autre bord.
Saint Isidore mourut
avant sa femme, en 1170, et on l'enterra sous une gouttière, dans le cimetière
de Saint-André, où il fut oublié quarante ans. Alors le Saint apparut à une
dame vertueuse pour la presser de procurer l'élévation et la translation de son
corps. Quand on l'eut retiré de terre, il fut trouvé aussi frais et aussi sain
que s'il venait de mourir; un parfum de délicieuse odeur embauma les airs, et
toutes les cloches sonnèrent d'elles-mêmes. L'église de Saint-André fut choisie
pour recevoir ses saintes reliques; on y vit un grand concours de peuple; de
nombreux miracles s'opérèrent et firent croître et grandir la dévotion à saint
Isidore.
P. Giry, Vie des
Saints, p. 241
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_isidore_le_laboureur.html
.jpg)
Attributed
to Alonso del Arco (1635–1704), San
Isidro Labrador y Santa María de la Cabeza, circa 1675, 40.7 x 63.5, Museo de San Isidro. Los orígenes de Madrid
10 mai. Saint Isidore le Laboureur, patron de la ville de Madrid et des laboureurs. 1170.
Pape : Alexandre III. Roi de Léon et de Galice : Ferdinand II. Roi de Castille et de Tolède : Alphonse VIII, le Bon.
" Le vrai agriculteur n'oublie point Dieu au milieu de son travail, car il attend plus de Dieu que de son travail, suivant cette parole de l'écriture : planter n'est rien, arroser n'est rien : le tout est de faire pousser, et c'est Dieu seul qui en a le pouvoir."
Saint Basile le Grand.
Saint Isidore (en espagnol san Isidro Labrador) naquit à Madrid, en Espagne, de parents très pauvres qui ne purent le faire étudier, mais lui apprirent à aimer Dieu et à détester le péché. L'enfant devint bientôt très habile dans cette science, la meilleure de toutes. Quand il fut en âge de travailler, il se plaça comme laboureur chez un riche habitant de la ville, nommé Jean de Vargas.
Plus tard, il épousa une femme aussi pauvre et aussi vertueuse que lui, Marie,
elle aussi objet d'un culte public, et il eut un enfant auquel il enseigna le
service de Dieu. Un jour, cet enfant tomba dans un puits ; ses parents,
désolés, adressèrent au Ciel de si ferventes prières, que l'eau du puits
s'élevant jusqu'en haut, y apporta cet enfant plein de vie et de santé. En
reconnaissance, les deux époux se séparèrent et vouèrent à Dieu une continence
perpétuelle.
Quoique occupé du grossier travail de mener la charrue, saint Isidore n'en
avait pas moins des heures fixes et réglées pour ses exercices de piété. Les
jours ordinaires, après avoir passé une partie de la nuit en oraison, il se
levait de grand matin et s'en allait visiter les principales églises de Madrid
; les jours de fête étaient entièrement consacrés à suivre les offices et à
prier.
Jamais il ne négligeait en rien son travail ; malgré cela, ses compagnons l'accusèrent auprès du maître, qui voulut s'assurer par lui-même de la vérité ; il regarda Isidore travailler, et vit deux Anges aider le Saint. Dès lors, Jean de Vargas conçut la plus grande estime pour son serviteur, et les bénédictions du Ciel se répandirent sur sa maison. Saint Isidore opéra des miracles en sa faveur ; il rendit la vie à un cheval dont on avait grand besoin ; la fille de Jean de Vargas étant morte à la suite d'une maladie douloureuse, il la ressuscita. Un jour, en frappant du pied la terre, il fit jaillir, afin d'étancher la soif de son maître, une fontaine qui coule encore. À la suite de ces miracles, Jean de Vargas se déchargea sur saint Isidore du soin de sa maison.
Saint Isidore était pauvre, et cependant il trouvait le moyen de se montrer
libéral envers les indigents ; il partageait avec eux son dîner, et un jour
qu'il avait tout donné, il pria sa femme d'aller voir s'il ne restait pas
quelque chose : celle-ci trouva le plat qui venait d'être vidé, aussi plein que
si personne n'y eût touché. Une autre fois, il avait été invité à un dîner de
confrérie, et ses dévotions le retinrent si longtemps, qu'il arriva quand tout
était fini.
Une multitude de pauvres le suivaient comptant sur ses restes. Les confrères
lui dirent, d'assez mauvaise humeur, qu'on lui avait gardé sa part, mais qu'il
n'y avait rien pour les mendiants.
" C'est assez, répondit-il, cela suffira pour moi et pour les pauvres de Jésus-Christ."
En effet, on trouva un repas entier là où on n'avait mis de côté que quelques morceaux.
La femme de saint Isidore, de son côté, donnait des marques d'une sainteté
aussi grande que celle de son mari. Elle aussi faisait des miracles. Retirée
dans un petit héritage, près de l'ermitage de Caraquiz, elle avait à traverser
une rivière pour se rendre à une église de la Sainte Vierge qu'elle fréquentait
assidûment. Un jour, elle trouva cette rivière débordée, et, avec une entière
confiance dans la puissance de Dieu, elle détacha son tablier, l'étendit sur
les eaux, et, à l'aide de cette barque d'un nouveau genre, passa tranquillement
à l'autre bord.
Saint Isidore mourut avant son épouse - laquelle s'était retirée dans un
ermitage à quelques lieues de Madrid -, en 1170, et on l'enterra sous une
gouttière, dans le cimetière de Saint-André, où il fut oublié quarante ans.
Alors le Saint apparut à une dame vertueuse pour la presser de procurer
l'élévation et la translation de son corps. Quand on l'eut retiré de terre, il
fut trouvé aussi frais et aussi sain que s'il venait de mourir ; un parfum de
délicieuse odeur embauma les airs, et toutes les cloches sonnèrent
d'elles-mêmes.
L'église de Saint-André fut choisie pour recevoir ses saintes reliques ; on y
vit un grand concours de peuple ; de nombreux miracles s'opérèrent et firent
croître et grandir la dévotion à saint Isidore. Une procession fameuse se fait
chaque année à Madrid où l'on porte le corps incorrompu de saint Isidore par
toute la ville.
***
Imagen
de San Isidro Labrador Tuxtilla
Statue
de saint Isidore à Tuxtilla, État de Veracruz, Mexique.
Neuvaine à saint Isidore :
Vous qui êtes le saint patron des agriculteurs et des maraîchers et qui ne négligiez jamais votre travail ;
Vous qui priiez tellement que les anges vous aidaient dans votre labeur ;
Vous qui étiez pauvre et qui prenait soin de tes frères en Christ ;
Vous qui viviez chastement ainsi que votre épouse Marie ;
Vous qui fîtes de nombreux miracles et dont le corps reste incorrompu à ce jour ;
Vous qui ressuscitâtes la fille de Jean Vargas ;
Je vous demande d'intercéder pour ...
Je vous le demande avec confiance et vous remercie par avance.
Ainsi soit-il.
Écrit par : Roch | jeudi,
16 juillet 2020
_Vierzehn-Nothelfer-Kapelle5969.JPG)
Bleiglasfenster in der Vierzehn-Nothelfer-Kapelle in Engeln, einem Ortsteil von Kempenich
L'histoire de l'Église et
la vie des Saints démontrent que la sainteté a fleuri, au cours des siècles,
dans toutes les classes de la société et dans les milieux les plus divers, chez
de tout jeunes enfants comme chez des adultes ou des vieillards. La sainteté
est une carrière ouverte à tous, selon la parole de Jésus Lui-même: Soyez
parfaits comme votre Père céleste est parfait. (Mt. 5, 48) Avec la grâce de
Dieu, tout chrétien est donc destiné à la sainteté, car la volonté de Dieu est
que vous soyez saints, (I Thess. 4, 3) enseigne saint Paul. Toutefois, il est
bien évident que personne ne peut devenir saint malgré lui! "Un saint, a
écrit saint Thomas d'Aquin, est une âme dans laquelle le Saint-Esprit a carte
blanche," c'est-à-dire pleine liberté d'action. C'est une âme fidèle aux
inspirations de la grâce, attentive à réaliser le bon plaisir de Dieu, à bien
porter la croix à la suite du divin Maître.
Tel a été saint
Isidore, à la suite de bien d'autres Saints, nos modèles. Patron des Laboureurs
et patron de la ville de Madrid, en Espagne, il mena une vie toute simple et
tout extraordinaire à la fois. Simple extérieurement, parce que semblable à la
vie de tant d'ouvriers et de travailleurs des champs; extraordinaire, parce que
vivifiée par un intense esprit de prière, de renoncement évangélique, et
d'amour pour Dieu et le prochain.
Anónimo
novohispano de tradición mexica, Mosaico de plumas (colibrí, canario y pato) y
óleo sobre papel amate. Marco de caoba, carey y hueso esgrafiado con tinta
negra; marco interior de palofierro y vidrio soplado, c Primera mitad del siglo
XVIII, Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso
Also
known as
Isidore Bonden
Isidore of Madrid
Isidore the Laborer
Isidore the Plowman
Isidro Labrador
Isidore the Worker
Isidoro l’agricoltore
Isadore…
Profile
Pious farmer. Married to Saint Mary
de la Cabeza. Their son died young;
they became convinced it was the will of God that
they not have children,
and they lived together chastely the rest of their lives, doing good works.
Accused by fellow workers of shirking his duties by attending Mass each
day, taking time out for prayers,
etc. Isidore claimed he had no choice but to follow the highest Master. One
tale says that when his master came in the morning to chastise him for skipping
work for church, he found angels plowing
the fields in place of Isidore. Miracles and
cures reported at his grave, in which his body remains incorrupt.
Born
c.1070 at Madrid,
Castille (part of modern Spain)
15
May 1130 at Madrid, Spain of
natural causes
buried at
the Church of
San Isidro in Madrid
12
March 1622 by Pope Gregory
XV
Mexican
peasants (proclaimed by Pope John
XXIII on 5
February 1962)
Spanish
peasants (proclaimed by Pope John
XXIII on 16
December 1960)
United
States National Rural Life Conference
Digos, Philippines, diocese of
Malaybalay, Philippines, diocese of
in Italy
in Peru
in the Philippines
Asturias,
Cebu
Bukidnon,
Mindanao
in Spain
Storefront
Additional
Information
A
Garner of Saints, by Allen Banks Hinds, M.A.
Book of Saints, by Father Lawrence
George Lovasik, S.V.D.
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Legends
of Saints and Birds, by Agnes Aubrey Hilton
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our
Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Oxford
Dictionary of Saints, by David Hugh Farmer
Sacred
and Legendary Art, by Anna Jameson
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
Some Patron Saints, by
Padraic Gregory
other
sites in english
1001
Patron Saints and Their Feast Days, Australian Catholic Truth Society
Saint
Isidore Parish, Stow, Massachusetts
images
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio
Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Dicastero
delle Cause dei Santi
Readings
O God,
Who didst teach Adam the
simple art of tilling the soil, and Who through Jesus Christ, the true vine,
didst reveal Thyself the husbandman of our souls, deign, we pray, through the
merits of Blessed Isidore, to instill into our hearts a horror of sin and a
love of prayer, so that, working the soil in the sweat of our brow, we may,
with Christ our Lord, enjoy eternal happiness in heaven. Through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen. – Prayer to Saint Isidore, Patron of Farmers;
from The Fold, August 1953
MLA
Citation
“Saint Isidore the
Farmer“. CatholicSaints.Info. 16 June 2024. Web. 4 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-isidore-the-farmer/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-isidore-the-farmer/
_Vitrail_05.jpg)
Baie
09: Saint-Isidore. Vitrail de l'église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de
Baguer-Morvan (35). Peintres verriers ː Lecomte et Colin, 1881
Book of Saints
– Isidore the Labourer
(Saint) (May 10) (12th
century) Born in Madrid of poor parents, Saint Isidore passed his life as a
labourer, marrying a wife as fervently pious as he himself was. He died May 15,
A.D. 1170, at the age of sixty; and his body remaining incorrupt was fresh
evidence of his sanctity. Of him it was said: “In life his hand was ever on the
plough; his heart ever blessed with the thought of God.” Pope Gregory XV
canonised him A.D. 1622. He is the Patron Saint of the city of Madrid.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Isidore the Labourer”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
11 September 2013. Web. 4 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-isidore-the-labourer/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-isidore-the-labourer/
San Isidro Labrador, yunta y retablo. Escultura en Metepec. Fibra de vidrio mineralizada con estructura de acero 1.80 m de altura. Yunta: 1.70 m de frente x 2.70 m de largo x 1.90 m de alto Retablo: Barro pigmentada 1.55 m de alto x 2.36 m de largo 1 tone ada. Autores: Carlos Diez Hernández y Rodolfo Sánchez Fierro
St. Isidore the Labourer
A Spanish daylabourer;
b. near Madrid,
about the year 1070; d. 15 May, 1130, at the same place. He was in the service
of a certain Juan de Vargas on a farm in the vicinity of Madrid.
Every morning before going to work he was accustomed to hear
a 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,
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 the deceased daughter of his master and to
havecaused a fountain of fresh water to burst from the dry earth in order
to quench the thirst of his master. He wasmarried to Maria Torribia,
a canonized saint,
who is venerated in Spain as Maria della
Cabeza, from the fact that her head (Spanish, cabeza) is often carried
in procession especially
in time of drought. They had one son, who died in his youth. On one
occasion this 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. Hereupon
the parents made
a vow of continence and
lived in separate houses. Forty years after Isidore's death, his body
was transferred from the cemetery to the church of
St. Andrew. He is said to have appeared to Alfonsoof Castile, and to
have shown him the hidden path by which he surprised the Moors and
gained the victory of Las Nevas de Tolosa, in 1212. 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 by
a costly silver one. He was canonized by Gregory
XV, along with Sts. Ignatius, Francis Xavier, Teresa,
and Philip Neri, on 12 March, 1622. St. Isidore is widely venerated as
thepatron of peasants and day-labourers. The cities of Madrid, Leon, Saragossa,
and Seville also, honour him
as their patron. His feast is
celebrated on 15 May.
Sources
His Life, as first written in 1265 by John, a deacon of the church of St.
Andrew, at Madrid, and supplemented by him in 1275, is printed in Acta S.S.,
May, III, 515-23. It served as the basis for LOPE DE VEGA's religious
poem San Isidro (1599). Acta SS., loc. cit., 512-559; BUTLER, Lives
of the Saints, 10 May; BARING-GOUID, Lives of the saints, 10 May;
TAMAYO Martyrologium Hispanicum, III (Lyons, 1655), 191-98;
QUARTINO, Vita di S. Isidoro agricola (Turin, 1882).
Ott,
Michael. "St. Isidore the Labourer." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1910. 11 May
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08189a.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Tom Burgoyne. In memory of
Father Baker, founder of Our Lady of Victory Homes.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08189a.htm
Saint
Isidore of Madrid and Saint Mary of La Cabeza. Engraving by D.H.V. Ugarte,
1768.
Isidore the Farmer (RM)
(also known as Isidoro,
Isidro)
Born in Madrid, Spain, 1070; died there in 1130; canonized in 1622; feast day
formerly on May 10 and March 22, and October 25 in the U.S.A. Saint Isidore's
feast is celebrated in Madrid, Spain, with ringing church bells and streets
decorated for a procession in his honor. The saint was poor into a peasant
family and baptized Isidore in honor of the famous archbishop of Seville. His
unreliable biography was written about 150 years after his death and many
concern the miracles associated with his name.
Isidore was a day laborer, working on the farm of the wealthy John de Vergas at
Torrelaguna just outside Madrid. He married a poor girl, Maria de la Cabeza
(Torriba), and had a son who died while still a baby. Thereafter, the couple
took a vow of continence to serve God. Isidore's life is a model of simple
Christian charity and faith. He prayed while at work, and he visited many
churches in Madrid and the area while on holidays. He shared what he had--even
his meals--with the poor, often giving them the more liberal portions.
He was steady and hard-working, but a complaint was made against him to his
employer that he arrived late to work because he attended early morning Mass
each day. When charged with his offense, he did not deny it and explained to
his employer: "Sir, it may be true that I am later at my work than some of
the other laborers, but I do my utmost to make up for the few minutes snatched
for prayer; I pray you compare my work with theirs, and if you find I have
defrauded you in the least, gladly will I make amends by paying you out of my
private store."
His employer said nothing, but remained suspicious, and, being determined to
find out the truth, rose one morning at daybreak and concealed himself outside
the church. In due course, Isidore appeared and entered the building, and
afterwards, when the service was over, went to his work. Still following him,
his employer saw him take the plough into a field, and was about to confront
him when, in the pale, misty light of dawn, he saw, as he thought, a second
plough drawn by white oxen moving up and down the furrows. Greatly astonished,
he ran towards it, but even as he ran it disappeared and he saw only Isidore
and his single-plough.
When he spoke to Isidore and enquired about the second plough he had seen,
Isidore replied in surprise: "Sir, I work alone and know of none save God
to whom I look for strength." Thus the story grew that so great was his
sanctity that the angels helped him even in his plowing. It was characteristic
of Isidore's whole life. He was a simple ploughman, his speech clear and
direct, his conduct honest as the day, his faith pure and steadfast. He was a
poor man, but gave away what he could, with a good and generous heart, and with
such sympathy and goodwill that his gifts seemed doubly blessed. Indeed, he
could never neglect doing a kindness to man or beast.
One snowy day, when going to the mill with corn to be ground which his wife had
gleaned, 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.
In such simple tales we find reflected the spirit of Saint Isidore, who never
ruled a diocese or was martyred for his faith, but who as truly served God in
the fields and on the farm as those in higher places and who bore more famous
names.
His saintly wife survived Isidore for several years. Forty years after his
death, his body was transferred to a shrine, and his cultus grew as a result of
miracles attributed to his intercession. He is said to have appeared in a vision
to King Alphonsus of Castile in 1211, and to have shown him an unknown path,
which he used to surprise and defeat the Moors. His canonization occurred at
the insistence of King Philip III, who attributed his recovery from a serious
illness to Isidore's intercession (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney,
Gill, Tabor, White).
In art, Saint Isidore is portrayed as a peasant holding a sickle and a sheaf of
corn. He might also be shown (1) with a sickle and staff, (2) as an angel
ploughs for him, (3) giving a rosary to children by a well, mattock on his
feet, water springing from the well, (4) striking water from dry earth with an
angel plowing in the background (Roeder), (5) before a cross, or (6) with an
angel and white oxen near him (White).
In Spanish art his emblems are a spade or a plough (Tabor). He is the patron of
Madrid, Spain (Roeder), farmers and farm laborers, and the U.S. National
Catholic Rural Conference (White).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0515.shtml
.jpg)
Antonius-Kapelle
in Bad Driburg-Neuenheerse
Miniature
Lives of the Saints – Saint Isidore of Madrid
Article
Isidore was born of poor
parents, at Madrid, in the twelfth century, and gained his livelihood as a ploughman.
He never learned to read or write, but sanctified himself by his daily toil,
according to the law God gave Adam at the falL Most of his nights were spent in
prayer, and his first act in the morning was to attend Mass. His fellow
servants accused him of neglecting his work for this purpose. When his master
went to the field to see the truth, he found two angels working by the side of
Isidore, to compensate for the time he had given to God. He had no fear but of
sin, and committed all his cares to God with marvellous simplicity. Hearing in
church that his ass was in danger from a wolf, he answered, “God’s will be
done,” and with perfect composure continued his prayers to the end. When he
reached the spot, his ass was feeding in safety, and the wolf lay dead by its
side. He constantly divided his food with the poor. Once, when all had been
given away, another poor man appeared. Isidore begged his wife for God’s sake
to find him some soup; and on looking into the vessel she found it miraculously
refilled. Isidore never had but the one master, who learned by long experience
his real worth, and made him steward of his whole property. He died a.d. 1170,
and is honoured as tie patron Saint of Madrid.
Saint Isidore became a
Saint because he preferred prayer with God to conversation with men, and
because he trusted rather the Divine power and goodness than any human aid.
“The stability of our
faith comes not from the acuteness of our understanding, but from the
simplicity of our adhesion to the promises of God.” — Saint Augustine
One hot summer’s day,
when the whole country was parched and the rivers were dry, Isidore’s master
came up to him in the field where he was ploughing, and asked him where he
could find some water to drink. The Saint pointed to a neighbouring hill. His
master went to the spot, but soon returned, disappointed and enraged. Then
Isidore took him to the same place, which indeed showed no sign of a spring ;
but the Saint made the sign of the Cross on the dry ground, and, piercing the
surface with his goad, there gushed forth a miraculous fountain, which flows to
this day, and is blessed with healing virtue.
“Trust in the Lord, and
do good, and inhabit the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches.” –
Psalm 36:3
MLA
Citation
Henry Sebastian Bowden.
“Saint Isidore of Madrid”. Miniature Lives of the
Saints for Every Day of the Year, 1877. CatholicSaints.Info.
23 February 2015. Web. 15 May 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/miniature-lives-of-the-saints-saint-isidore-of-madrid/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/miniature-lives-of-the-saints-saint-isidore-of-madrid/
De
todos los milagros, el rescate del niño es uno de los más representados, aquí
se ve en un casilicio del lateral derecho del Puente
de Toledo.
St. Isidore the Farmer
When he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, St. Isidore entered the service
of John de Vergas, a wealthy landowner from Madrid, and worked faithfully on
his estate outside the city for the rest of his life. He married a young woman
as simple and upright as himself who also became a saint—Maria de la Cabeza.
They had one son, who died as a child.
Isidore frequented Holy Mass every morning but often reported to work late.
Late, though he was, his plowing was nevertheless accomplished by angels that
resulted in three times more productivity. His coworkers and his boss witnessed
such miraculous events and accorded Isidore with great respect.
All day long, as he walked behind the plow, he communed with God. Many
marvelous happenings accompanied his lifelong work in the fields and continued
long after his holy death. He was favored with celestial visions and, it is
said, the angels sometimes helped him in his work in the fields.
He was known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isidore’s
supplying them miraculously with food. He had a great concern for the proper
treatment of animals.
He died May 15, 1130, and was declared a saint in 1622 with Ignatius of Loyola,
Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri. Together, the group is known
in Spain as “the five saints.” St. Isidore has become the patron of farmers and
rural communities. In particular he is the patron of Madrid, Spain, and of the
United States National Rural Life Conference.
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/saints/saint-isidore-the-farmer/
Joaquin
Castañon, San Isidro Labrador (Saint Isidore the Farmer), 1866, Oil on
canvas, San Antonio Museum of Art
Legends
of Saints and Birds – Saint Isidore
In the twelfth century
there lived in Spain a peasant called Isidore. He spent his days ploughing his
master’s fields, watching his master’s crops, having no thought but that of
doing his duty faithfully. But the Church, following the example of our Blessed
Lord, her Founder, who chose to be born in lowly state, has ever liked to show
honour to those simple souls who, having no riches nor possessions, no rank nor
title, yet are called to be Saints. So it is that Isidore the peasant was
chosen to be patron of a royal city the capital of Spain. And as each fifteenth
of May comes round, in Madrid they hold a festival, keeping the Feast Day of
the peasant Saint. Now, Isidore was but a day labourer, going forth to his work
until the evening, work which he did well and diligently. Yet slanderous
tongues sought to make mischief by saying that Isidore came late to his work,
never telling how he worked longer and more diligently than his fellows.
Therefore his master
inquired of him wherefore he came not early to work as did his fellow
labourers.
“Sir,” said Isidore,
“truly I am at my work later than some of the others; but I do my best to make
up for the few minutes spent in prayer. If my work seemeth unfavourable to
thee, or thou thinkest I have defrauded thee in any matter, I pray thee say so,
for gladly will I repay thee from my private store.”
Then, knowing that
Isidore worked well, that he rose early to go into Madrid to hear Mass, which
might make him later at his work, his master said naught. But one day he rose
early and went into the fields to watch Isidore. He saw Isidore trudging to
church so soon as the dawn appeared, and marked his return. He was later than
his fellows, wherefore his master was angry and went to tell him so. Isidore
was ploughing, his little son running at the heads of the oxen; but in the same
field, ploughing another furrow, was a second plough. The master stood amazed:
this plough was drawn by snow-white oxen, while for ploughman was a radiant
angel. Up and down went this heavenly plough, cutting clean furrows. But as the
master approached the vision faded from his sight.
“Isidore,” he called,
“who ploughs the field with thee?”
“No one, sir,” said
Isidore, amazed; “I work alone, and know of none save God to whom I look for
strength.”
Therefore the master said
no more, but returned home pondering the matter deeply.
Isidore was a
kind-hearted man; he loved the patient oxen who pulled his plough, and the ass
who carried the corn to be ground at the mill. Holy beasts, he called them, for
was not our Lord born in a stable, the home of the oxen and asses? and did not
an ass bear Him on that Palm Sunday? And oft-times looking upon the Cross which
the ass has on its back, “Happy beast,” he would say, “on whom God has traced
the symbol of Redemption, for, because one of thy kind bore thy Saviour, all of
thee are blessed.”
It is told how one day
Isidore and his little son were going to the mill. They had the ass with them,
carrying a sack of corn, gleanings from the fields which Isidore’s wife had
made. It was winter time; snow covered the ground and sparkled on the tree
boughs, and it was difficult for beast and bird to find food. As they went
along the birds hovered near, as though they knew that in that sack was a store
of food. Presently some pigeons came flying, vainly searching for food.
So Isidore told the boy
to stop the ass, and making a hole in the sack he took out some handfuls of
wheat for the hungry birds.
“They need it as much as
we do,” said he; then he and the boy went on their journey, leaving the
feathered folk eating happily. At the age of forty Isidore died: he was buried
in the cemetery of Saint Andre. All who knew him loved him greatly, for he was
a true and faithful servant of God, who had laboured earnestly to serve his
heavenly Master.
– taken from Legends
of Saints and Birds by Agnes Aubrey Hilton
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/legends-of-saints-and-birds-saint-isidore/
Józef Buchbinder (1839–1909). Św.
Izydor Oracz, 1907, kozirynek.online.pl
- https://kozirynek.online/blog/2019/10/10/9825/
St. Isidore, Patron of
Madrid, Labourer
IT is a misfortune which
deserves to be lamented with floods of tears, that ignorance, obstinacy, and
vice should so often taint a country life, the state which of all others is
most necessary and important to the world; the most conformable to human condition
and to nature; the state which was sanctified by the example of the primitive
holy patriarchs, and which affords the most favourable opportunities for the
perfect practice of every virtue and Christian duty. What advantageous helps to
piety did the ancient hermits seek in the deserts, which the circumstances of a
country labourer do not offer? The life of St. Isidore is a most sensible proof
of this assertion. He was born at Madrid, of poor but very devout parents, and
was christened Isidore from the name of their patron, St. Isidore of
Seville.—They had not the means to procure him learning or a polite education;
but, both by word and example, they infused into his tender soul the utmost
horror and dread of all sin, and the most vehement ardour for every virtue, and
especially for prayer. Good books are a great help to holy meditation; but not
indispensably requisite. St. Irenæus mentions whole nations which believed in
Christ, and abounded in exemplary livers, without knowing the use of ink or
paper. Many illustrious anchorets knew no other alphabet than that of humility
and divine charity. The great St. Antony himself could not so much as read the
Greek or Latin languages: nay, from the words of St. Austin, some doubt whether
he could read even his own barbarous Egyptian dialect. Yet in the science of
the saints, what philosopher or orator ever attained to the A B C of that great
man? Learning, if it puff up the mind, or inspire any secret self-sufficiency,
is an impediment to the communications of the Holy Ghost; simplicity and
sincere humility being the dispositions which invite him into the soul. By
these was Isidore prepared to find him an interior instructor and comforter.
His earnestness in seeking lessons and instructions of piety made him neglect
no opportunity of hearing them; and so much the more tender and the deeper were
the impressions which they left in his soul, was his desire the stronger and
the more pure. His patience in bearing all injuries, and in overcoming the envy
of fellow-servants by cordial kindnesses; his readiness to obey his masters,
and in indifferent things to comply with the inclinations of others, and humbly
to serve every one, gave him the most complete victory over himself and his
passions. Labour he considered as enjoined him by God in punishment of sin, and
for a remedy against it. And he performed his work in a spirit of compunction
and penance. Many object that their labours and fatigues leave them little time
for the exercises of religion. But Isidore, by directing his attention
according to the most holy motives of faith, made his work a most perfect act
of religion. He considered it as a duty to God. Therefore he applied himself to
it with great diligence and care, in imitation of the angels in heaven, who in
all things fulfil the will of God with the greatest readiness and alacrity of
devotion. The more humbling and the more painful the labour was, the dearer it
was to the saint, being a means the more suitable to tame his flesh, and a more
noble part of his penance. With the same spirit that the saints subdued their
bodies by toils in their deserts, Isidore embraced his task. He moreover
sanctified it by continual prayer. Whilst his hand held the plough, he in his
heart conversed with God, with his angel guardian, and the other blessed
spirits; sometimes deploring the sins of the world, and his own spiritual
miseries, at other times, in the melting words of the royal prophet, raising
his desires to the glory of the heavenly Jerusalem. It was chiefly by this
perfect spirit of prayer, joined with, or rather engrafted upon a most profound
humility and spirit of mortification, that St. Isidore arrived at so eminent a
degree of sanctity as rendered him the admiration of all Spain. In his youth he
was retained servant by a gentleman named John de Vargas of Madrid, to till his
land and do his husbandry work. The saint afterwards took a most virtuous woman
to wife, named Mary Toribia. Those who call her de la Cabeza were deceived by a
chapel to which that name is given, because her head is kept in it. After the
birth of one child, which died young, the parents, by mutual consent, served
God in perfect continency.
St. Isidore continued
always in the service of the same master. On account of his fidelity, he could
say to him as Jacob did to Laban, 1 that,
to guard and improve his stock, he had often watched the nights, and had
suffered the scorching heats of summer, and the cold of winter; and that the
stock, which he found small, had been exceedingly increased in his hands.—Don
John de Vargas, after long experience of the treasure he possessed in this
faithful ploughman, treated him as a brother, according to the advice of
Ecclesiasticus, 2 Let
a wise servant be dear to thee as thy own soul. He allowed him the liberty
of assisting daily at the public office of the church. On the other side, Isidore
was careful by rising very early, to make his devotions no impediment to his
business, nor any encroachment upon what he owed to his master. This being a
duty of justice, it would have been a false devotion to have pretended to
please God by a neglect of such an obligation; much less did the good servant
indulge his compassionate charity to the poor, by relieving them otherwise than
out of his own salary. The saint was sensible that in his fidelity, diligence,
and assiduous labour consisted, in great part, the sanctification of his soul;
and that his duty to his master was his duty to God. He also inspired his wife
with the same confidence in God, the same love of the poor, and the same
disengagement from the things of this world: he made her the faithful imitatrix
of his virtues, and a partner in his good works. She died in 1175, and is
honoured in Spain among the saints. Her immemorial veneration was approved by
Pope Innocent XII. in 1697. See Benedict XIV. de Canoniz. l. 2, c. 24, p. 246.
St. Isidore being seized
with the sickness of which he died, foretold his last hour, and prepared
himself for it with redoubled fervour, and with the most tender devotion,
patience, and cheerfulness. The piety with which he received the last
sacraments drew tears from all who were present. Repeating inflamed acts of
divine love, he expired on the 15th of May, 1170, being near sixty years of
age. His death was glorified by miracles. After forty years, his body was
removed out of the churchyard into the church of St. Andrew. It has been since
placed in the bishop’s chapel, and during these five hundred years remains
entire and fresh, being honoured by a succession of frequent miracles down to
this time. The following, among others, is very well attested. Philip III. in
his return from Lisbon, was taken so ill at Casarubious del Monte, that his
life was despaired of by his physicians. Whereupon the shrine of St. Isidore
was ordered to be carried in a solemn procession of the clergy, court, and
people from Madrid to the chamber of the sick king. The joint prayers of many
prevailed. At the same time the shrine was taken out of the church, the fever
left the king; and upon its being brought into his chamber, he was perfectly
cured. The year following the body of the saint was put into a new rich shrine,
which cost one thousand six hundred ducats of gold.—St. Isidore had been
beatified a little before by Paul V. in 1619, at the solicitation of the same
king. His solemn canonization was performed at the request of the King Philip
IV. on the 12th of March, 1622; though the bull was only made public by
Benedict XIII. See the life of St. Isidore, written by John of Madrid, one
hundred and forty years after his death; and Card. Lambertini, de Canoniz.
SS. t. 3
Note 1. Gen. xxxi.
40; xxx.
30. [back]
Note 2. Eccles. vii.
28. [back]
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume V: May. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/5/103.html
Statue
de saint Isidore le laboureur, Scaër, chapelle de Plaskaer
St. Isidore the Farmer
by Fr. Richard Butler
Saints are known for the
lives they lived and also for the devotion fostered in the years that followed
their life on earth. When we think of Isidore we are brought back ten centuries
(1070 – 1130) to a farm in Spain, a simple life, Isidore and his wife achieving
sanctity through basic family values.
The years that followed
saw a steady and growing devotion as generation after generation came to the
spiritual journey strengthened by his example. Yet it would be five centuries,
(1662) before he would be canonized. And then another five centuries to our own
day.
The last century saw
particular devotion to him as the dignity of the farmer and his/her role in the
world community grew. Here in America Isidore became the patron of the National
Rural Life Conference. And here in Stow with the founding of the new parish
mid-1900s Isidore was chosen as patron.
In 1992, the parish received a gift of a relic of St. Isidore. See the bulletin announcement here.
Marcello Bacciarelli (1731–1818), Święty Izydor - Błogosławieństwo pracy - Isidore the Laborer - the Blessing of work, 1805, 325 x 194.5, National Museum in Warsaw
Life of St. Isidore and
St. Maria de la Cabeza
Isidore was born in
Madrid, Spain, 1070; died there in 1130; canonized in 1622.
The saint was born into a
peasant family. He was baptized Isidore in honor of the famous archbishop of
Seville. His unreliable biography was written about 150 years after his death.
Much of it deals with miracles associated with his name.
Isidore was a day
laborer, working on the farm of the wealthy John de Vergas at Torrelaguna just
outside Madrid. He married a poor girl, Maria
Torribia. They had a son who died while still a baby. The couple took a vow
of continence to serve God. Isidore's life is a model of simple Christian
charity and faith. He prayed while at work, and he visited the many churches in
Madrid and the area while on holidays. He shared what he had, even his meals,
with the poor. He often gave them the more than he had for himself.
He was steady and
hard-working, but a complaint was made against him to his employer that he
arrived late to work because he attended early morning Mass each day. When
charged with his offense, he did not deny it and explained to his employer:
"Sir, it may be true that I am later at my work than some of the other
laborers, but I do my utmost to make up for the few minutes snatched for
prayer; I pray you compare my work with theirs, and if you find I have
defrauded you in the least, gladly will I make amends by paying you out of my
private store."
His employer said
nothing, but remained suspicious, and, being determined to find out the truth,
rose one morning at daybreak and concealed himself outside the church. In due
course, Isidore appeared and entered the building, and afterwards, when the
service was over, went to his work. Still following him, his employer saw him
take the plough into a field, and was about to confront him when, in the pale,
misty light of dawn, he saw, as he thought, a second plough drawn by white oxen
moving up and down the furrows. Greatly astonished, he ran towards it, but even
as he ran it disappeared and he saw only Isidore and his single-plow.
In such simple tales we
find reflected the spirit of Saint Isidore, who never ruled a diocese or was
martyred for his faith, but who as truly served God in the fields and on the
farm as those in higher places and who bore more famous names.
When he spoke to Isidore
and enquired about the second plough he had seen, Isidore replied in surprise:
"Sir, I work alone and know of none save God to whom I look for
strength." Thus the story grew that so great was his sanctity that the
angels helped him even in his plowing. It was characteristic of Isidore's
entire life. He was a simple plowman. His speech was clear and direct. His
conduct was honest, and his faith pure and steadfast. He was a poor man, but
gave away what he could, with a good and generous heart, and with such sympathy
and good will that his gifts seemed doubly blessed. He could not neglect doing
a kindness to man or beast.
One snowy day, when going
to the mill with corn to be ground which his wife had gleaned, 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.
His saintly wife survived
Isidore for several years. Forty years after his death, his body was
transferred to a shrine, and his cultus grew as a result of miracles attributed
to his intercession. He is said to have appeared in a vision to King Alphonsus
of Castile in 1211, and to have shown him an unknown path, which he used to
surprise and defeat the Moors. His canonization occurred at the insistence of
King Philip III, who attributed his recovery from a serious illness to Isidore's
intercession. He was canonized with four very notable Spanish saints. The
group, known as "the five saints", included St. Ignatius of Loyola,
St. Teresa of Avila, St. Francis Xavier, St. Phillip Neri, and St. Isidore.
In art, Saint Isidore is
portrayed as a peasant holding a sickle and a sheaf of corn. He might also be
shown (1) with a sickle and staff, (2) as an angel plows for him, (3) giving a
rosary to children by a well, mattock on his feet, water springing from the
well, (4) striking water from dry earth with an angel plowing in the
background, (5) before a cross, or (6) with an angel and white oxen near him.
St. Maria de la Cabeza
Maria died c. 1175 and
was beatified in 1697. She became a hermit like St. Isidore; Maria, too,
performed miracles and merited after her death the name of Santa Maria de la
Cabeza, meaning Head, because her head, conserved in a reliquary and carried in
procession, has often brought down rain from heaven for the afflicted
countryside. Her remains are honored by all of Spain by pilgrimages and
processions at Torrelaguna, where they were transferred in 1615.
SOURCE : https://www.stisidorestow.org/About/stIsidore.html
Saint
Isidore the Laborer by an unknown Peruvian painter, circa 1850, oil on
canvas, Lowe Art Museum
Sant' Isidoro
l'agricoltore Laico
Madrid (Spagna), ca. 1080
- 15 maggio 1130
Nacque a Madrid intorno
al 1070 e lasciò giovanissimo la casa paterna per essere impiegato come
contadino. Grazie al suo impegno i campi, che fino allora rendevano poco,
diedero molto frutto. Nonostante lavorasse duramente la terra, partecipava ogni
giorno all'Eucaristia e dedicava molto spazio alla preghiera, tanto che alcuni
colleghi invidiosi lo accusarono, peraltro ingiustamente, di togliere ore al
lavoro. Quando Madrid fu conquistata dagli Almoravidi si rifugiò a Torrelaguna
dove sposò la giovane Maria. Un matrimonio che fu sempre contraddistinto dalla
grande attenzione verso i più poveri, con cui condividevano il poco che
possedevano. Nessuno si allontanava da Isidoro senza aver ricevuto qualcosa.
Morì il 15 maggio 1130. Venne canonizzato il 12 marzo 1622 da Papa Gregorio XV.
Le sue spoglie sono conservate nella chiesa madrilena di Sant'Andrea. (Avvenire)
Patronato: Madrid
Etimologia: Isidoro =
dono di Iside, dal greco
Martirologio Romano: A
Madrid nella Castiglia in Spagna, sant’Isidoro, contadino, che insieme con sua
moglie la beata Maria de la Cabeza attese con impegno alle fatiche dei campi,
cogliendo con pazienza la ricompensa celeste più ancora dei frutti terreni, e
fu vero modello di contadino cristiano.
Forse è stato messo poco
in risalto l’ambizioso traguardo di “santità di coppia” che due semplici
contadini di Madrid sono riusciti a raggiungere nel XII secolo: probabilmente
perché la pratica devozionale ha fatto prevalere, nel marito, l’aspetto
prodigioso e miracolistico, e la popolarità che lui si è guadagnato
praticamente in tutto il mondo come patrono dei raccolti e dei contadini ha
finito per oscurare un po’ quella di lei, che pure si è fatta santa
condividendo gli stessi ideali di generosità e laboriosità del marito,
raggiungendo la perfezione tra casseruole, bucati e lavori nei campi. Parliamo
di San Isidoro di Madrid e della beata Maria Toribia, la cui festa si celebra
nel mese di maggio (il 10 o il 15, dipende dai calendari), anche se lui, per il
fatto di essere patrono dei campi, viene invocato e festeggiato praticamente in
ogni stagione dell’anno, al tempo della semina come al tempo dei raccolti.
Isidoro nasce a Madrid intorno al 1070 da una poverissima famiglia di
contadini, contadino egli stesso tutta la vita, per necessità. Non sa né
leggere né scrivere, ma sa parlare con Dio. Anzi, a Dio dedica molto tempo,
sacrificando il riposo, ma non il lavoro, al quale si dedica appassionatamente.
E quando l’urgenza di parlare con Dio arriva anche durante il lavoro, sono gli
angeli a venirgli in aiuto e a guidare l’aratro al posto suo: un modo poetico e
significativo per dire come Isidoro abbia imparato a dare a Dio il primo posto,
senza venir mai meno ai suoi doveri terreni. Per i colleghi invidiosi è facile
così accusarlo di “assenteismo”, ma è il padrone stesso a verificare che
Isidoro ha tutte le carte in regola, con Dio e con gli uomini. L’invidia, che è
davvero vecchia quanto il mondo, gli procura anche un’accusa di malversazione e
di furto ai danni dell’azienda, perché ha il “brutto vizio” di aiutare con
generosità i poveri, attingendo abbondantemente da un sacco, il cui livello
tuttavia non si abbassa mai. E pensare che la generosità di Isidoro non si
limita alle persone, ma si estende anche agli animali della campagna, ai quali
d’inverno non fa mancare il necessario sostentamento. In questo continuo
esercizio di carità e preghiera è seguito passo passo dalla moglie Maria, che
una certa agiografia ha dipinto dapprima avara e poi “conquistata” dall’esempio
del marito. Certo è comunque che sulla strada della perfezione avanzano
entrambi, sostenendosi a vicenda e aiutandosi anche a sopportare i dolori della
vita, come quello cocente della morte in tenerissima età del loro unico figlio.
Isidoro muore nel 1130 e lo seppelliscono senza particolari onori nel cimitero
di Sant’Andrea, ma anche da quel campo egli continua a “fare la carità”,
dispensando grazie e favori a chi lo invoca, al punto che quarant’anni dopo
devono a furor di popolo esumare il suo corpo incorrotto e portarlo in chiesa.
A canonizzarlo, però, nessuno ci pensa. Ci vuole un grosso miracolo, cinque
secoli dopo, in favore del re Filippo II a sbloccare la situazione. E il 12
marzo 1622 papa Gregorio XV gli concede la gloria degli altari insieme a
quattro “grossi” santi (Filippo Neri, Teresa d’Avila, Ignazio di Loyola e
Francesco Saverio) in mezzo ai quali, qui in terra, l’illetterato contadino si
sarebbe sentito un po’ a disagio. E da allora, come recita l’enciclopedia dei
santi, diventa il “patrono degli affittuari agricoli, dei birocciai, di
Centallo e di Verzuolo”.
Autore: Gianpiero Pettiti
Isztimér,
római katolikus templom belső tere
Interior
of the Roman Catholic church in Isztimér, Fejér, Hungary Altar of Saint Florian
in Baroque revival style from 1934.
Questo è uno dei rari casi di uomini sposati diventati santi. Isidoro dedica tutta la sua vita alla preghiera e al lavoro dei campi e quello che guadagna non lo tiene tutto per sé perché è generoso e altruista. Nato a Madrid, in Spagna, intorno al 1070, in una famiglia di contadini poverissimi, Isidoro (che non sa né leggere né scrivere, come tutti i poveri agricoltori dell’epoca) rimane orfano di padre da bambino. Sua moglie, contadina come lui, si chiama Maria e, seguendo l’esempio del marito, da avara diventa buona e religiosa.
L’agricoltore ama la natura e gli animali e d’inverno butta sulla neve un po’ di grano per non far morire di fame i suoi amici uccellini. Isidoro crede in Dio ed è molto religioso. Quando lavora la terra per conto del padrone, a volte si ferma a pregare. I colleghi, invidiosi, lo accusano di essere un “assenteista”, uno scansafatiche e di rubare ore al lavoro. Alcuni di loro vanno dal padrone per accusare ingiustamente Isidoro di tenere per sé una parte del raccolto. Il padrone crede alle calunnie che gli vengono riferite, mentre invece la verità è un’altra: Isidoro dona parte delle proprie sostanze, per altro modeste, ai più poveri. Si racconta anche di un miracolo dovuto alla Provvidenza Divina che dona abbondanza a chi sa essere generoso con i più sfortunati. Isidoro, infatti, aiuta i poveri prendendo del cibo da un sacco che, prodigiosamente, si riempie di continuo.
Un giorno il padrone non può credere ai suoi occhi: recatosi a controllare il
lavoro svolto da Isidoro, vede due angeli spingere l’aratro e guidare i buoi e
il buon contadino intento a pregare. Il proprietario terriero da quel momento
non crede più alle calunnie degli invidiosi e tiene in grande considerazione il
suo bravo agricoltore: grazie al lavoro di Isidoro, infatti, i raccolti, di
ottima qualità, sono abbondanti e sembrano moltiplicarsi. Il padrone capisce
che il suo dipendente è guidato dall’Intervento Divino e tutti i poveri
contadini della zona cominciano a vivere meglio, usufruendo dell’abbondanza
creata dalle preghiere di Isidoro. Il buon contadino muore nel 1130 circa.
Ancora oggi è molto amato in tutta la Spagna. Santo patrono di Madrid, le sue
spoglie riposano nella cattedrale di questa città. Viene invocato contro la
siccità e perché arrivi la pioggia. Tantissime le grazie ottenute da chi lo
invoca. È protettore degli agricoltori, dei braccianti, della semina e dei
raccolti.
Autore: Mariella
Lentini
San
Isidro Labrador (St. Isidor von Madrid); Schule von Potosí, Bolivien,
wahrscheinlich 19. Jh.; Öl auf Leinwand; Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin
San
Isidro Labrador (Saint Isidore the Laborer), school of Potosí, Bolivia,
probably 19th century; Oil on canvas; Ethnological Museum, Berlin, Germany
Nasce in una Spagna che per buona parte è in mano araba, e nell’infanzia sente raccontare le gesta di tre grandi condottieri. Ecco Alfonso VI il Bravo, re di Castiglia e di León, che ha conquistato tante città. E poi Yusuf ibn Tashufin, capo della dinastia musulmana degli Almorávidi, che ha sconfitto Alfonso nel 1081 e ha incorporato i domìni arabi di Spagna nel suo impero nordafricano. Infine, c’è il condottiero dei condottieri, l’eroe nazionale Ruiz Díaz de Bivar detto il Cid, el que en buena çinxo espada (colui che in buon’ora cinse la spada).
Isidoro non ha spada né cavallo. Orfano del padre fin da piccolo, va poi a lavorare la terra sotto padrone, nelle campagne intorno a Madrid. A causa della guerra, cerca rifugio e lavoro più verso nord, a Torrelaguna. E vi trova anche moglie: Maria Toribia, contadina come lui.
Isidoro è un credente schietto. Partecipa ogni giorno alla Messa mattutina, e durante la giornata lo si vede spesso appartato in preghiera. Questo gli tira addosso le accuse di altri salariati: ha poca voglia di lavorare, perde tempo, sfrutta le nostre fatiche. È già accaduto agli inizi, nelle campagne di Madrid; poi continua a Torrelaguna, e più tardi a Madrid ancora, quando lui vi ritorna alla fine dei combattimenti. A queste accuse Isidoro non si ribella, ma neppure si piega. Il padrone è preoccupato, non si fida di lui? E allora sorvegli, controlli, verifichi i risultati del suo lavoro... E questo fa appunto il padrone, scoprendo che Isidoro ha sì perso tempo inginocchiandosi ogni tanto a pregare, ma che alla sera aveva mietuto la stessa quantità di grano degli altri. E così al tempo dell’aratura: tanta orazione pure lì, ma a fine giornata tutta la sua parte di terra era dissodata.
Juan de Vargas si chiama questo proprietario, che dapprima tiene d’occhio Isidoro con diffidenza; ma alla fine, toccata con mano la sua onestà, arriva a dire che quei risultati non si spiegano solo con la capacità di lavoro; ci sono anche degli interventi soprannaturali: avvengono miracoli, insomma, sulle sue terre.
E altri diffondono via via la voce: in tempo di mietitura, il grano raccolto da Isidoro veniva prodigiosamente moltiplicato. Durante l’aratura, mentre lui pregava in ginocchio, gli angeli lavoravano al posto suo con l’aratro e con i buoi. Così il bracciante malvisto diventa l’uomo di fiducia del padrone, porta a casa più soldi e li divide tra i poveri. Né lui né sua moglie cambiano vita: è intorno a loro e grazie a loro che la povera gente incomincia a vivere un po’meglio. Nel tempo delle epiche gesta di tanti conquistatori, le imprese di Isidoro sono queste, fino alla morte.
A volte certi suoi atti fanno pensare a Francesco d’Assisi. Per esempio, quando d’inverno si preoccupa per gli uccelli affamati: e per loro, andando al mulino con un sacco di grano, ne sparge i chicchi a grandi manciate sulla neve; ma quando arriva al mulino, il sacco è di nuovo prodigiosamente pieno.
Lavorare, pregare, donare: le sue gesta sono tutte qui, e dopo la morte lo rendono famoso come Alfonso il Bravo e come il Cid. Nel 1170 il suo corpo viene deposto nella chiesa madrilena di Sant’Andrea, e col tempo la sua fama si divulga in Spagna, nelle colonie spagnole d’America e in alcune regioni del Nord europa. Nel 1622, Isidoro l’Agricoltore viene canonizzato da Gregorio XV (con Ignazio di Loyola e Francesco Saverio). Nel 1697 papa Innocenzo XII proclama beata sua moglie Maria Toribia. Le reliquie di sant’Isidoro si trovano ora nella cattedrale di Madrid.
Autore: Domenico Agasso
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/53300
Hüttau
( Salzburg / Austria ). Parish church: Saint Isidore the Labourer on a
ceremonial standard.
Hüttau
( Salzburg / Österreich ). Pfarrkirche: St. Isidor von Madrid auf einer
Prozessionsfahne.
Isidoro l'agricoltore
(ca. 1070-1130)
Beatificazione:
- 02 maggio 1619
- Papa Paolo V
Canonizzazione:
- 12 marzo 1622
- Papa Gregorio XV
- Basilica Vaticana
Ricorrenza:
- 15 maggio
Contadino che, a Madrid,
in Spagna, insieme con sua moglie, la beata Maria de la Cabeza, attese con
impegno alle fatiche dei campi, cogliendo con pazienza la ricompensa celeste
più ancora dei frutti terreni, e fu vero modello di contadino cristiano.
Patrono di braccianti,
contadini e agricoltori di alcune città spagnole ed italiane
l Santo contadino
Nato a Madrid intorno al
1070, Isidoro si fa Santo pregando, lavorando nei campi e condividendo i suoi
averi con i più poveri.
Nonostante lavorasse
duramente la terra, partecipava ogni giorno all'Eucaristia e dedicava molto
spazio alla preghiera, tanto che alcuni colleghi invidiosi lo accusarono,
peraltro ingiustamente, di togliere ore al lavoro.
Non mancano le invidie,
ma lui supera tutto anche grazie all’aiuto della moglie Maria, un matrimonio
che fu sempre contraddistinto dalla grande attenzione verso i più poveri, con
cui condividevano il poco che possedevano. Nessuno si allontanava da Isidoro
senza aver ricevuto qualcosa.
Morì il 15 maggio 1130.
Venne canonizzato il 12 marzo 1622 da Papa Gregorio XV. Le sue spoglie sono
conservate nella chiesa madrilena di Sant'Andrea.
Vissuto nell’epoca dei
grandi conquistatori, è patrono di agricoltori e contadini.
SOURCE : https://www.causesanti.va/it/santi-e-beati/isidoro-l-agricoltore.html
.jpg)
Mariano Salvador Maella (1739–1819), San Isidro Labrador y su esposa Santa María de la Cabeza, circa 1790, 56 x 28, Museum of Romanticism, Madrid
San Isidro Labrador
Isidro Labrador, San.
Madrid, f. s. XI – f. s. XII. Santo, patrón de Madrid.
San Isidro es más
conocido por la tradición popular que por los datos auténticamente históricos
que se poseen sobre su vida. A pesar de todo, es uno de los pocos santos
medievales cuyos milagros fueron recogidos en un códice, redactado en la
segunda mitad del siglo XIII y en latín, por orden del rey Alfonso X para la
Capilla Real ubicada junto al altar mayor de la parroquia de San Andrés de
Madrid, en donde, desde hacía varias décadas, era venerado su cuerpo
incorrupto, generando uno de los lugares de peregrinación más importantes de
Castilla. El autor del códice fue Juan Gil de Zamora, un cortesano, teólogo,
franciscano, sabio escritor, erudito y humanista, colaborador de Alfonso X en
su obra hagiográfica, conocida, sobre todo, por Las Cantigas de Santa María.
De la primera parte de
dicho códice es de donde se extraen los escasos datos biográficos que se
tienen, luego confirmados, en unos casos, y aumentados, en otros, por la
tradición popular, bien intencionada, aunque, desafortunadamente, falta, en
algunos casos, de criterio histórico. Se trata de cinco milagros realizados en
vida del personaje, todos ellos contextualizados en la realidad social y
económica de su tiempo, por lo que, prescindiendo del hecho extraordinario en
sí que supone cualquier tipo de milagro, se pueden rastrear conceptos e ideas
que ayudan, bien que de manera incompleta, a reconstruir aunque sólo sea
algunos retazos de su vida.
Al no tratarse de una
biografía al uso, ni pretender su autor que lo fuera, el códice no señala lugar
y fecha de nacimiento, ni filiación ni otros datos que ilustren realmente sobre
el ciclo vital del personaje. La tradición señala que nació en Madrid, allá por
finales del siglo XI, coincidiendo con la nueva coyuntura histórica que supuso
el paso del reino de Toledo a manos cristianas en el año 1085 por el rey
Alfonso VI, tras un pacto o acuerdo con el rey taifa Al-Qādir. Madrid y otros
lugares pertenecientes a este reino se convierten, así, en zonas fronterizas
con la España islámica, muy castigadas por el ataque, primero de almorávides y
luego de almohades, todo lo cual determinó el carácter y hasta la vida
política, institucional y religiosa de sus gentes. Su vida se desarrolló
durante los reinados en Castilla de Alfonso VI, la reina doña Urraca y Alfonso
VII.
Es muy probable que fuese
mozárabe, ya que este grupo social fue numeroso en tierras toledanas, es decir,
del antiguo reino de Toledo, que comprendía también Madrid y Guadalajara,
estableciéndose en los fértiles valles fluviales, dedicándose a la agricultura
y sus miembros repartidos en alquerías, aldeas y villas; la mayor parte lo hizo
como campesinos independientes o collazos adscritos a la tierra y vinculados a
algún señor, caso de san Isidro con Juan de Vargas, un plebes milites, o
sea, caballero villano de ascendencia mozárabe que pudo beneficiarse de los
repartimientos de tierras de Alfonso VI gracias a los servicios prestados al
Rey cuando la toma de Toledo.
El códice sólo señala que
san Isidro estaba casado y era padre de un hijo. Es la tradición la que pone
nombre a la esposa, María de la Cabeza, y al hijo, Juan o Illán, el cual de
niño cayó a un pozo y fue rescatado sano y salvo por las oraciones de sus padres.
De adulto llegó a adquirir fama de santo, cuando marchó a vivir a la ribera
media del Tajo, en tierras de Toledo, en donde realizó algunos milagros muy
parecidos a los de su padre. El códice señala que san Isidro era un humilde
arrendatario que trabajaba a cambio de un sueldo anual, lo cual encaja
perfectamente con la definición de collazo, siendo costumbre que estuvo la
mayor parte de su vida vinculado a los Vargas, aunque se le conocen otros amos.
Asimismo, el códice lo
presenta trabajando en Madrid y establecido en un campo próximo a la villa, que
la tradición, de nuevo, identifica con la heredad de Juan de Vargas en
Carabanchel, junto a la ribera derecha del río Manzanares, entonces llamado
Guadarrama, en una casa de labor situada en medio de tierras fértiles dedicadas
al cultivo de cereales. Recuérdese que dichas tierras ocupan una buena parte de
las terrazas fluviales de dicho río y que sobre la casa de labor que ocupó la
familia se levantaría, ya en el siglo XV, una ermita, aprovechando el manantial
y la fuente construidos por el mismo santo, cuyas aguas tienen propiedades
curativas, según fue reconocido por Roma en el propio proceso de canonización.
Este hecho llevó a identificar al personaje no sólo como labrador, sino también
como pocero, atribuyéndosele muchos de los pozos que hoy día se conservan en
distintos puntos de Madrid.
Los cinco milagros, que
se pueden denominar biográficos, muestran a un campesino madrileño que
realizaba las labores propias de su oficio: la labranza de la tierra con yugo
de bueyes y arado y que acudía al molino a moler trigo en el invierno.
Cotejando estas noticias con los datos históricos que se tienen sobre la vida
campesina de la época, se encuentra uno con una realidad fehaciente, una
agricultura de arado y la práctica de la molienda durante el invierno, después
de la siega del verano, cuando el grano, que había permanecido recogido en
silos, era transportado a alguno de los molinos hidráulicos madrileños que
funcionaban a pleno rendimiento, porque el Manzanares venía muy crecido de
agua, cuya energía hacía funcionar la rueda de moler.
En este contexto se
sitúan los dos primeros milagros: el del molino y el de los bueyes. En el
primer caso, el santo se dirigía a un molino, que la tradición identifica con
el de La Arganzuela, junto al puente de Toledo, en compañía de un mozo o
ayudante, para moler trigo, y en mitad del camino ofreció de comer a unas
hambrientas palomas, ateridas por el frío y la nieve, siendo objeto de la burla
de su acompañante por derrochar de esa manera el trigo. El milagro se produjo
cuando, al llegar al molino, los costales de ambos se encontraban repletos, sin
que faltase nada.
La moraleja refleja una
idea muy propia de la mentalidad religiosa de la época: la caridad hacia los
animales, obra de Dios y seres de la Creación, y la Providencia Divina para
quien la practica.
El segundo milagro
muestra cómo el tiempo dedicado a la oración no merma el rendimiento laboral,
más al contrario, lo hace fructificar y multiplica sus beneficios, poniendo de
manifiesto que la vida del cristiano no se fundamenta exclusivamente en el
trabajo, sino también en la oración, en un momento histórico, como el siglo
XIII, época de redacción del códice, en que la mentalidad burguesa proponía el
trabajo como la única meta de realización personal.
Según el códice, los
compañeros se quejaban al amo de que san Isidro se incorporaba tarde a la
labranza, porque desde el amanecer se pasaba la mayor parte del día rezando por
las iglesias que había a su alrededor.
El amo, queriendo comprobar
personalmente las acusaciones, espió una mañana a Isidro y observó atónito cómo
un yugo celestial de bueyes blancos, a la par que su propio yugo, ayudaba al
santo a realizar la labranza, aumentando, de esta manera, los rendimientos y
los esfuerzos de su trabajo, supuestamente disminuidos por el tiempo dedicado a
la oración.
El resto de los milagros
se contextualizan no en el trabajo rural, sino en el marco de las prácticas
religiosas de la época: el milagro del lobo, el de la olla y el de los pobres. El
primero presenta a un Isidro espiritual que no abandonaba la oración ni la
posponía ante ningún contratiempo. Unos chiquillos, mientras estaba rezando un
día de verano en la iglesia de Santa María Magdalena, identificada con la
actual ermita del cementerio parroquial de Carabanchel Bajo, le alertaron de
que había un lobo feroz que persiguió a su borriquillo, ocasionándole heridas
de muerte. Sin embargo, el santo, pacientemente, terminó de hacer su oración y
cuando salió de la iglesia se encontró al lobo muerto y al jumento en perfecto
estado. El nombre de la iglesia, uno de los pocos topónimos que aparecen en el
códice, y la idea del borriquillo, trasladan al ambiente histórico de una época
en que los campesinos se valían de estos animales para sus desplazamientos y
como bestias de carga y sin los que no se entiende la gran movilidad de estas
gentes de unos lugares a otros, recorriendo, a veces, grandes distancias.
Los dos últimos milagros
se refieren a la práctica de la caridad. En el de la olla, la comida se
multiplicó repentinamente cuando un pobre acudió un sábado a su puerta
demandando limosna. Parece ser que había costumbre de que este día se
repartiesen alimentos entre los más necesitados. El pobre del relato llegó el
último y, al parecer, la comida se había terminado; sin embargo, san Isidro
interpeló a su esposa y le rogó que mirase si aún quedaba algo en la olla. Ésta
acudió, llena de incredulidad, y comprobó sorprendentemente que estaba llena.
El último de los milagros
presenta la existencia de cofradías seglares, que durante los siglos XII y XIII
fueron muy dinámicas, y se manifestaron como el medio más ideal de la
participación de los laicos en la vida de la Iglesia, así como la recuperación
de un estilo de vida cuyas raíces se hunden en la espiritualidad de las
primeras comunidades cristianas. San Isidro perteneció a una de estas cofradías
y, durante una de las comidas de hermandad, llegó tarde, debido a que había
estado rezando en las iglesias, introduciendo consigo a unos pobres que había
encontrado en la puerta pidiendo limosna. La comida se había acabado, quedando
sólo la ración que los comensales habían reservado al santo. El milagro quiso
que la olla estuviese, de repente, repleta de comida, con lo que se pudo dar de
comer a los pobres y aún sobraron alimentos para muchos más. Este milagro se
sitúa junto a la iglesia de Santa María Magdalena, a donde los cofrades, que
habían presenciado el milagro, acudieron a dar gracias a Dios. Ello provocó que
la tradición identificara esta cofradía con la que desde muy antiguo existió en
Carabanchel Bajo, bajo la advocación del apóstol Santiago.
Este hecho vincula, una
vez más, a san Isidro con la entonces aldea madrileña y sus tierras, pareciendo
más que probable que durante la mayor parte de su estancia en Madrid viviese en
este contexto rural y no en la villa, según se desprende del propio códice.
La tradición, sin
embargo, le vincula también laboralmente con otros lugares de fuera de Madrid,
en donde los Vargas tenían heredades, básicamente la sierra norte madrileña y
las tierras del Jarama, caso de Buitrago del Lozoya, Talamanca y,
especialmente, Caraquiz, en los términos municipales de Torrelaguna (Madrid) y
Uceda (Guadalajara), en donde pudo conocer a su esposa y contraer matrimonio.
El último relato biográfico
representa la muerte de san Isidro y su enterramiento. Se trata de un reflejo
del ideal de la perfecta muerte cristiana, acompañada de unos gestos y símbolos
concretos que reflejan y se enmarcan, de nuevo, en la realidad histórica. El
santo hizo testamento de sus escasos bienes, considerado por la Iglesia como un
acto de piedad y de fe. Después, ya enfermo, y en el lecho de muerte, recibió
el viático, se golpeó el pecho, en señal de arrepentimiento, juntó sus manos,
cerró los ojos, realizó la señal de la cruz y, por último, exhaló el espíritu.
Esto sucedía a finales
del siglo XII, en una fecha imprecisa que varía, según los biógrafos, entre la
década de 1170 y la de 1190. La tradición asegura que pudo morir un 30 de
noviembre, festividad del apóstol san Andrés, ya nonagenario y en la casa que
Juan de Vargas tenía en la collación de San Andrés, que no sería la casa
principal del caballero, sino una de sus propiedades para sirvientes y demás,
en una collación donde predominaban los campesinos mozárabes vinculados a su
familia y en la que habría cuadras, silos, graneros, establos y otros
habitáculos en un ambiente muy rural, de ahí la llamada cuadra de San Isidro,
donde, según la tradición, el santo guardaba el ganado. Es evidente que, ya de
mayor, se retiró a vivir sus últimos años a esta collación. Durante este tiempo
la tradición popular asegura que continuaba con sus prácticas piadosas,
especialmente la devoción a la Virgen de Atocha, cuyo santuario se había
convertido en un importante centro de peregrinación, y a Nuestra Señora de la
Almudena.
Fue enterrado en el
cementerio de la parroquia de San Andrés, la última que, durante su vida
laboral, visitaba antes de proseguir su camino hacia el campo.
Allí, en una sencilla
fosa, sin lápida, ni nombre, ni ninguna otra señal, permanece casi olvidado de
todos, hasta tal punto que en tiempo de lluvias un arroyuelo penetraba en su
interior, inundando la sepultura.
Después de cuarenta años,
su cuerpo fue localizado milagrosamente, según creencia popular, por revelación
divina, encontrándose incorrupto y siendo trasladado al interior de la iglesia.
A raíz de su
identificación por Alfonso VIII como el pastor que había ayudado a las huestes
cristianas a vencer a los almohades en la batalla de las Navas de Tolosa de
1212, se desarrolló su culto, construyéndose una capilla y un arca para
contener su cuerpo, todo lo cual quedó bajo el patronato de la Corona,
permaneciendo, de este modo, el santo y todo lo referente a su tradición
vinculado secularmente a la Casa Real.
A finales del siglo XVI,
se dieron los primeros pasos para su canonización, que no concluyó hasta el
siglo siguiente. En 1619, el papa Pablo V le declaró beato y el 12 de marzo de
1622 Gregorio XV le canonizó, junto a los españoles Ignacio de Loyola, Francisco
Javier, Teresa de Jesús y el italiano Felipe Neri.
Sin embargo, su bula de
canonización no fue emitida por Roma hasta el 4 de junio de 1724, bajo el
pontificado de Benedicto XIII. El 16 de diciembre de 1960 Juan XXIII le declaró
patrón de los agricultores españoles.
Ya desde el siglo XVI, a
raíz de la colonización de América y el imperio español, su culto se había
extendido por América, Filipinas y parte de Europa.
Es patrón de Madrid y de
otros muchos pueblos y ciudades.
Bibliografía
A. de Villegas, Vida
de San Isidro Labrador [...], Madrid, Imprenta de Luis Sánchez, 1592
J. Bleda, Vida y
milagros del glorioso San Isidro Labrador, hijo, abogado y patrón de la Real
Villa de Madrid [...], Madrid, Imprenta de Tomás Junti, impresor del rey, 1622,
2 vols.
G. de Argaiz, La
soledad y el campo laureados por el solitario de Roma y el labrador de Madrid,
San Benito y San Isidro, Madrid, Imprenta de Francisco Nieto, 1671
D. van Papenbroeck, Acta
Sanctorum, t. III, Paris-Roma (Venetiis, apud Sebastianum coleti et Jo.
Baptistam Albrizzi Hieron), 1738, mes de mayo, págs. 509-546
F. Fita, “Leyenda de San
Isidro por el diácono Juan”, en Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, n.º
IX (1886), págs. 97-157
Z. García Villada, San
Isidro Labrador en la historia y en la literatura, Madrid, Razón y Fe,
1922 (col. Grandezas españolas, 6)
N. J. de la Cruz, Vida
de San Isidro Labrador, patrón de Madrid, adjunta la de su esposa Santa María
de la Cabeza, Madrid, Citarcirios edición, 1968 (ed. facs., Madrid,
Imprenta Real, 1790)
J. A. Álvarez de
Baena, Hijos de Madrid, ilustres en santidad, dignidades, armas, ciencias
y artes. Diccionario histórico, Madrid, Atlas, 1972
J. de la Quintana, A
la muy antigua, noble y coronada villa de Madrid, historia de su antigüedad,
nobleza y grandeza, Madrid, Ábaco, 1980
F. Moreno
Chicharro, San Isidro Labrador, biografía crítica, Madrid, F. Moreno
Chicharro, 1981
VV. AA., San Isidro
Labrador, patrono de la Villa y Corte: IX centenario de su nacimiento, Madrid,
Academia de Arte e Historia de San Dámaso, 1983
D. Fernández Villa, San
Isidro Labrador, Santa María de la Cabeza, su esposa, Madrid, Everest,
1987
VV. AA., Milagros de
San Isidro (siglo XIII) (ed. facs. del manuscrito, Madrid, Academia de
Arte e Historia de San Dámaso, Arzobispado de Madrid, 1993)
T. Puñal Fernández y J.
M. Sánchez, San Isidro de Madrid, un trabajador universal, Madrid, La
Librería-Congregación de San Isidro de Naturales de Madrid, 2000.
Autor/es
Tomás Puñal Fernández
SOURCE : https://historia-hispanica.rah.es/biografias/23741-san-isidro-labrador
Sv.
Izidor, zavetnik kmetov, circa 1775, 127 x 72, Slovenian
Museum of Christianity,
Stična, Slovenia
SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR
(15 de mayo). Fiesta
introducida modernamente en Navarra; no aparece mencionada en las sinodales de
1590. Ciertas agrupaciones de labradores la han consolidado recientemente,
celebrándose con esplendor, sobre todo en la Navarra Media y la Ribera, donde
suelen adornarla imagen del Santo y sus andas con los mejores frutos
hortícolas, roscos y espigas. Los cofrades de San Isidro en Azagra renovaban de
víspera los cargos de prior y alcalde, hacían hogueras y repartían pan, bacalao
y vino. En Sesma fue tradicional “correr el rosco”, sostenido por uno de los
cofrades.
SOURCE : http://www.enciclopedianavarra.com/?page_id=18199
Garwolin,
ul. Staszica 11 - kościół p.w.
Przemienienia Pańskiego, fresk w nawie północnej przedstawiający św.
Izydora, który modli się przed krzyżem, podczas gdy anioł orze pole (zabytek nr
741 z 7.05.1962)
Saint Isidore the Laborer: The Iconography : https://www.christianiconography.info/isidoreLaborer.html
Voir aussi : https://www.exaudi.org/es/san-isidro-labrador-15-mayo/
