Free concerts, carnationsdonuts… San Isidro festivities They entail many things. But the truth is that it all started with a farmer who became a saint. His name was Isidro and he was very tall. He was almost 1.85 and had about 48 years old when he died (not 90 years old, as oral tradition defended), as demonstrated by a scientific analysis carried out on his body in 2022. He was also from Madrid, despite being the patron saint of many towns throughout the world, and he had black facial features. By profession, as his name indicates, he was Labrador. Not just any one.

A large number of works are attributed to his figure. miracles in the Madrid of his time, that of XII century. Hence his figure is used by field workers to ask for good harvests. Its birth is located in the area of ​​Águila Street in Madrid on April 4, 1082. At that time, Mayrit (Madrid) was a city of 12,500 inhabitants, of which 2,500 were Christians and the rest were Muslims, according to the Archdiocese. from Madrid. “Despite their inferiority, there were already ten churches,” he adds. The choice of his name, the aforementioned source points out, would be related to Saint Isidore of Sevillewhose remains had passed through Madrid in 1063 to take them to León.

Thus, the parents of San Isidro would have chosen the name of their son guided by the commotion and fervor caused by the passage through the capital of the body of another saint. From his personal life it is known that He was married to Santa María de la Cabeza and had a son. His life took place in Madrid, except for the time when he had to move due to clashes between Christians and Muslims. Then, he went with his parents to Torrelaguna, where he met his wife precisely. In Madrid, he worked for a long period in the fields of Iván de Vargas, in Carabanchel. “He sanctified himself with work; he earned his living with the sweat of his brow,” says Luis Manuel Velasco, president of the Real, Very Illustrious and Primitive Congregation of San Isidro de Naturales of Madrid.

The miracles of San Isidro

Beyond dedicating himself to the land, San Isidro occupied part of his life with prayer already take care of your neighbors, despite his humble position. According to the aforementioned source, the blessed Ana Catalina Emmerick had a vision of the day-to-day life of San Isidro and his wife in which the couple gave everything to the poordespite the fact that “many times they had almost nothing in the house. “But trusting in God, they searched and found abundant provisions,” adds this testimony.

In fact, one of his miracles says that one day Isidro was attending to the needs of those who came to his death and his wife told him that there was no more food left in the pot. “But he insisted that he keep putting the ladle in. And so, every time he did it, he came out full,” Juan Deácono related in his codex. Another of his miracles took place in his house in Madrid, in the current San Isidro Museum. His son, Illán, fell into a manor “from which he was miraculously saved because, after the prayer of his parents, the water level began to rise until he carried him into the arms of his mother,” says the aforementioned fountain.

It is said that in this event, Saint Isidro resorted to his faith in Virgin of Almudena, a figure to which he was closely linked as shown by several compositions of the time. The cult that he practiced was such that every day he woke up early to go to mass before starting his work day, the Congregation of San Isidro de Naturales of Madrid points out on his website. This caused him to be the object of ridicule by his neighbors. Leaving aside these comments, San Isidro dedicated his life to work, prayer and caring for his neighbors, Catholic tradition says. Thus, both he and his wife managed to become saints. He was named patron of Madrid in 1212, canonized in 1724 and considered patron of Spanish farmers and peasants since 1960.