The Spanish profession name labrador comes from the verb labrar ("to till", "to plow" or, in a broader sense, "to work the land").

Isidore spent his life as a hired hand in the service of the wealthy Madrilenian landowner, Juan de Vargas, on a farm in the city's vicinity.

Isidore married Maria Torribia, known as Santa María de la Cabeza in Spain; she has never been canonized, pending confirmation by Pope Francis.

[4] On one occasion, their son fell into a deep well, and at the prayers of his parents, the water of the well is said to have risen miraculously to the level of the ground, bringing the child with it.

[5] On another occasion, his master saw an angel ploughing on either side of him, so that Isidore's work was equal to that of three of his fellow field workers.

Taking pity on the poor animals, he poured half of his sack of precious wheat upon the ground for the birds, despite the mocking of witnesses.

When he reached the mill, however, the bag was full, and the wheat, when it was ground, produced double the expected amount of flour.

[3] On 2 April 1212, after torrential rains had exhumed cadavers from cemeteries in Madrid, his body was discovered in an apparent state of incorruptibility.

[7] He is said to have appeared to Alfonso VIII of Castile, and to have shown him the hidden path by which he surprised the Moors and gained the victory of Las Navas de Tolosa, in 1212.

[10] Isidore was beatified in Rome on 2 May 1619 by Pope Paul V along with Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Ávila and Philip Neri, on 12 March 1622.

[13] In 1696, his relics were moved to the Royal Alcazar of Madrid to intervene on behalf of the health of Charles II of Spain.

In 1769, Charles III of Spain had the remains of Saint Isidore and his wife Maria relocated to the San Isidro Church, Madrid.

His life and miracles have inspired paintings, a poem by Lope de Vega, music and a 1964 film Isidro, labrador by Rafael J. Salvia.

[18] The date of his liturgical feast, which, though not included in the General Roman Calendar, has been celebrated for centuries in several countries and dioceses, is 15 May.

One of the most celebrated holidays of Madrid is held on 15 May, the liturgical feast of Isidore who is the city's patron saint as well as of farmers.

[17] The feast in honor of San Isidro is declared of National Tourist Interest in Andalusia and is one of the most important celebrations in province of Malaga.

For years, the Alicantine locality of Castalla has been celebrating the Fair of San Isidro, where numerous companies display their products in a playful and festive atmosphere.

The Romería festival in Almogia, a pueblo blanco in the campo halfway between Malaga to the south and Antequera, celebrates San Isidro, its patron saint, on the weekend in the middle of May with a fiesta carnival.

15 May is San Isidro Day in Cuz-Cuz, about five kilometers from the city of Illapel, Choapa province, in the Coquimbo region of Chile.

In 1947, at the request of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, he was officially named patron of farmers.