Isidore the Laborer
Isidore the Laborer, also known as Isidore the Farmer (Spanish: San Isidro Labrador) (c. 1070 – 15 May 1130), was a Spanish farmworker known for his piety toward the poor and animals. He is the Catholic patron saint of farmers, and of Madrid; El Gobernador, Jalisco; La Ceiba, Honduras; and of Tocoa, Honduras. His feast day is celebrated on 15 May.
Saint Isidore the Laborer | |
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Saint Isidore the Farmer | |
| Confessor | |
| Born | c. 1070 or 1082 Madrid, Taifa of Toledo |
| Died | 15 May 1130 (aged 59) or 1172 Madrid, Kingdom of Castile |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Anglican Communion Aglipayan Church |
| Beatified | 2 May 1619, Rome by Pope Paul V |
| Canonized | 12 March 1622, Rome by Gregory XV |
| Feast | 15 May; 25 October; 22 March |
| Attributes | Portrayed as a peasant holding a sickle and a sheaf of corn, a sickle and staff; as an angel plows for him; or with an angel and white oxen near him. In Spanish art, his emblems are a spade or a plough. |
| Patronage | San Ysidro, San Diego, California ;"San Isidro Labrador, quita el agua y pon el sol" ,'Madrid agriculture; farmers; day labourers; Argentina: San Isidro Chile: Cuz Cuz Peru: Carampa and Lima The Philippines: Pulilan, Bulacan Angono, Rizal Malaybalay City Mantalongon, Cebu Cabaon-an, Labrador, Pangasinan, Ormoc City, Leyte Cuenca, Batangas Digos Brgy. San Isidro, San Pablo City San Isidro, Lupao, Nueva Ecija Lucban, Quezon Anos, Los Baños, Laguna Makiling, Calamba City, Laguna Mogpog, Marinduque Morong, Rizal Nabas, Aklan Bayebaye, Jamindan, Capiz Binalbagan, Negros Occidental Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental Sariaya, Quezon Talavera, Nueva Ecija Tayabas, Quezon San Isidro, Talisay City, Cebu
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The Spanish profession name labrador comes from the verb labrar ("to till", "to plow" or, in a broader sense, "to work the land"). Hence, to refer to him as simply a "laborer" is a poor translation of the Spanish labrador as it makes no reference to the essential farming aspect of his work and his identity. His real name was Isidro de Merlo y Quintana.