St. Isidore the Farmer (about 1070–1130) was a poor farm laborer near Madrid who went to Mass every morning before work, shared what little he had with the poor and even with the birds, and became one of the most beloved saints of Spain. He and his wife, St. María de la Cabeza, are a model of holiness in ordinary married and working life. He is the patron of farmers, rural communities and the city of Madrid, and his feast is May 15. Below are prayers to St. Isidore for crops and weather, for farm families and farm workers, and for holiness in daily work, Scripture and his story.
A prayer to St. Isidore the Farmer
Written for this page:
St. Isidore, humble farmer,
you began each day with Mass and worked the land with patience and prayer,
sharing your bread with the poor and the hungry.
Pray for me, that I may do my daily work for God,
be generous with what I have,
and trust his providence in every season.
Obtain for me the grace I ask: (name your intention). Amen.
A prayer for crops and good weather
St. Isidore, patron of farmers,
pray for our fields, our gardens and our animals.
Ask the Lord to send rain in its season and sun in its time,
to protect our crops from drought, storm and disease,
and to give us a good harvest to feed our families and the hungry. Amen.
This prayer was written for this page.
Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth: patiently bearing till he receive the early and latter rain.
Be you therefore also patient, and strengthen your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
A prayer for farm families and farm workers
St. Isidore and St. María de la Cabeza,
bless all farm families, ranchers and farm workers,
especially migrant workers far from home.
Keep them safe in their labor, give them a just wage,
and strengthen their marriages and their faith. Amen.
This prayer was written for this page.
A prayer for holiness in daily work
St. Isidore, you prayed as you plowed.
Help me to offer my work to God,
to do it honestly and well,
and to find him in the ordinary hours of my day. Amen.
This prayer was written for this page. See the Morning Offering.
The life of St. Isidore the Farmer
Isidore was born around 1070 in Madrid, then a small town, to poor Christian parents. He spent his life as a hired laborer on the estate of a wealthy landowner, Juan de Vargas, outside the city. He married María Torribia, later venerated as St. María de la Cabeza, and they had a son. The couple lived simply and gave much of what they had to the poor.
Isidore went to Mass every morning before work. When his fellow workers complained that he started late, his master went to see for himself and, according to tradition, found angels plowing beside Isidore, one on each side, so that his work was done as well as anyone’s. Other stories tell of him multiplying grain he had given to hungry birds in winter, and of a pot of stew that never ran out when he fed the poor. He died on May 15, 1130. His body was found incorrupt forty years later, and he was canonized on March 12, 1622, together with St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Francis Xavier, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Philip Neri.
He should not be confused with St. Isidore of Seville (April 4), a bishop and Doctor of the Church who lived five centuries earlier.
Feast day and patronage
- Feast day: May 15 (an optional memorial in the United States). A novena can run from May 6 to 14.
- Patron of: farmers, farm workers, rural communities, and the city of Madrid; he and his wife are also patrons of married couples.
- Symbols: a plow or a spade, a sheaf of wheat, and angels plowing.
Frequently asked questions
When is the feast of St. Isidore the Farmer?
May 15.
What is St. Isidore the Farmer the patron saint of?
Farmers, farm workers, rural communities and Madrid.
Who was St. Isidore’s wife?
St. María de la Cabeza, who is also venerated as a saint; her feast is September 9 in Spain.
What is the difference between St. Isidore the Farmer and St. Isidore of Seville?
Isidore the Farmer was a twelfth-century laborer near Madrid; Isidore of Seville was a seventh-century archbishop and scholar.
More prayers
- St. Joseph’s Day: St. Joseph the Worker
- Catholic prayer for a job
- Catholic blessings
- St. Roch prayer
- Prayers to popular saints
- Saint feast days
Texts and sources
- Scripture: James 5:7–8, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayers were written for this page.