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All Saints

St. Isidore the Farmer

Patron of Farmers and Laborers

Feast Day: May 15

Biography

St. Isidore the Farmer (c. 1070–1130) was a Spanish farm laborer who worked the fields of a wealthy landowner near Madrid his entire life. He was known for attending Mass daily, which sometimes made him late to the fields. When his employer investigated, he reportedly found angels plowing alongside Isidore, doing his work while he prayed. He shared his meager wages and food with the poor, and even with animals. He married St. Maria de la Cabeza, and together they lived a life of humble piety. He was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. He is proof that holiness is possible in the most ordinary of lives.

Patronages

farmerslaborersrural communitiesMadridUS National Catholic Rural Life Conference

Symbols

PlowSickleAngelSheaf of wheatStaff

Prayer

St. Isidore, you sanctified the ordinary labor of farming through constant prayer. Help me to find God in my daily work and to offer every task as a prayer. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Asking for Intercession

Catholics ask saints to pray with us and for us, as we ask friends on earth. St. Isidore the Farmer, who lives in God's presence, intercedes before His throne. Speak from your heart: “St. Isidore the Farmer, please pray for me…” You may also pray the prayer above or include this intention in your Rosary.