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Saint Bridgid – Born: 453 (perhaps 451)
Died: 523
Patronage:
babies; blacksmiths; boatmen; cattle; chicken farmers;
children whose parents are not married; dairymaids;
dairy workers; fugitives; infants; Ireland; Leinster, Ireland;
mariners; midwives; milk maids; newborn babies; nuns;
poets; poultry farmers; poultry raisers; printing presses;
sailors; scholars; travelers; watermen
Saint Anthony: Born: 12 January 251; Died: 17 January 356
Patronage:
Animals, skin diseases, farmers, butchers, the poor, basket makers, brush-makers, gravediggers
Saint Isidore the Farmer’s Story (1070 – May 15, 1130)
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.
When he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, 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 had deep religious instincts. He rose early in the morning to go to church and spent many a holiday devoutly visiting the churches of Madrid and surrounding areas. All day long, as he walked behind the plow, he communed with God. His devotion, one might say, became a problem, for his fellow workers sometimes complained that he often showed up late because of lingering in church too long.
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 Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, and Philip Neri. Together, the group is known in Spain as “the five saints.”
Reflection
Many implications can be found in a simple laborer achieving sainthood: Physical labor has dignity; sainthood does not stem from status; contemplation does not depend on learning; the simple life is conducive to holiness and happiness. Legends about angel helpers and mysterious oxen indicate that his work was not neglected and his duties did not go unfulfilled. Perhaps the truth which emerges is this: If you have your spiritual self in order, your earthly commitments will fall into order also. “[S]eek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness,” said the carpenter from Nazareth, “and all these things will be given you besides” (Matthew 6:33).
Saint Isidore the Farmer is the Patron Saint of:
Farmers
Rural Laborers
//Catholic Company//
St. Amelia (741-772 A.D.) was born into a noble and pious Christian family in the land of the Ardennes, bordering what is today Belgium and Luxembourg. She was a devout child of strong character who committed her virginity to Christ from a young age. However, because she was such a beautiful and virtuous woman, she was pursued for several years by the young Charlemagne. In one account, Charlemagne broke her arm in a physical struggle to hold her hand, and afterwards her arm was miraculously healed. His romantic interest was rebuffed, and Amelia was eventually able to realize her desire to enter the convent. She spent the rest of her life in the Benedictine abbey of Münster-Bilzen in Belgium, and helped to build a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Belgian town of Temsche. St. Amelia is said to have performed many miracles, the most famous being the one in which she crossed the Schelde River miraculously while standing on the back of a giant sturgeon fish. St. Amelia is the patroness of farmers, fishermen, and those suffering from arm and shoulder pain. Her feast day is celebrated on July 10th.
//Catholic Company//
St. Walburga (710-777 A.D.) was born near Devonshire, England, the daughter of St. Richard the Pilgrim (a Saxon king) and the sister of Sts. Willibald and Winebald. When she was eleven her father and brothers went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, while her father placed her in a convent famous for its holiness. She was well educated according to her rank, became a nun, and lived there for twenty-six years. Her uncle, St. Boniface, then brought her to what is now Germany to help him evangelize that country and establish the Church there. In this missionary activity she joined her brothers who were also laboring for the faith in that country, one as an abbot, the other as a bishop.
Because of Walburga’s education, she was able to document the travels of her brother in the Holy Land, and for this work she became the first female author of England and Germany. She was known as a miracle worker and healer both in her life and after her death.
St. Walburga’s relics have the miraculous property of exuding oil to which many cures have been ascribed through the centuries. St. Walburga is the patron saint of sailors, mariners, and farmers, and against hydrophobia, famine, coughs, rabies, plague, and storms. St. Walburga’s feast day is February 25th.