CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA – On Friday, 15 May 2026, the parish of Carmel Mission Basilica, 3080 Rio Road, will be celebrating a special Mass at 10am in observance of the optional memorial of Saint Isidore the Farmer, patron of farmworkers and of the parish’s Falge Farmworker Ministry.
Saint Isidore the Farmer, also known as Saint Isidore the Laborer, was a farmworker who lived near Madrid in medieval Spain during the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. He became known for his deep life of prayer, humility, and devotion amid ordinary agricultural labor, and numerous miracles came to be associated with him both during his life and after his death.
Saint Isidore died on 15 May 1130 and was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV alongside Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Ávila, and Philip Neri. In 1947, he was formally named patron of farmers in the United States, and his feast was added to the national liturgical calendar.
