St. Isidore of Seville, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

St. Isidore of Seville, Bishop and Doctor of the Church: ca. 560-636 A.D.

Feast day, April 4

Birth and family background

St. Isidore, bishop of Seville, was born at Cartagena, Spain, in 560 A.D., to a pious and noble family of Hispanic-Roman origin. Two of his brothers, Leander (26 years older than Isidore and a Benedictine monk) and Fulgentius, like Isidore, became bishops and saints. One of his sisters, Florentina, was an abbess of many convents and later declared a saint. It was his elder brother Leander (from whom Isidore received his education as a boy after their parents' death), who gave Isidore a very strict but firm educational grounding. After Isidore worked as an assistant to Leander (who had become bishop of Seville), he succeeded Leander as bishop when Leander died in ca. 600 A.D.

Continuing Leander's work and presiding over Councils

As bishop, St. Isidore continued and completed the work he and Leander began in converting the Visigoths. Isidore also continued Leander's practice of settling the Church's disciplinary matters, and promoted theological and ecclesiastical unity in the Spanish Church through the regional Councils. St. Isidore presided over the Second Council of Seville in 619 A.D., and then the Fourth Council of Toledo in 633 A.D. He was given preference over the archbishop of Toledo at the time to preside over the Council, because Isidore's accomplishments proved his worth as a great teacher in Spain.

A voluminous and prolific writer

St. Isidore's writings form the earliest chapter of Spanish literature. He wrote Etymologies, an early encyclopedia that attempted to compile all the knowledge and the sciences of his age. Although outdated today, this work was one of the most widely used texts of the Middle Ages and was continually used for nine centuries. This encyclopedia earned Isidore the title, "Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages". One of Isidore's contemporaries also called him "the man who saved Spain from barbarism".


St. Isidore's other works included: a Dictionary of Synonyms; a treatise on astronomy and physical geography; a history of the principal events of the world from creation to the year 615 A.D.; a manual of Christian doctrine; a biography of illustrious men; a book of Old and New Testament personalities; and The History of the Kings of the Goths, Vandals, and Suevi, (a very good resource book on the early history of Spain).


Isidore also wrote a code of rules for monks which bore his name, and was generally followed throughout Spain. He wrote extensive theological and ecclesiastical works. He also completed the Mozarabic missal and breviary which his brother Leander had begun to adapt for the use of the Goths (a liturgy that is still in use in Toledo, Spain).

Recognized and admired for his holiness

St. Isidore lived an austere life throughout his years, taking very little for himself and giving away what he did have. When he was near death, Isidore invited other bishops to visit him. At his request, they clothed him in sackcloth and ashes, the clothing of penitents, and he prayed for the forgiveness of his sins. After receiving the last sacraments, he asked those present for their prayers, forgave his debtors, and distributed all his possessions to the poor. St. Isidore then returned to his house where he died peacefully shortly thereafter in 636 A.D. at about the age of seventy-six.

Sainthood and the title Doctor of the Church

St. Isidore died peacefully in the Lord on April 4, was canonized in 1598 A.D. by Pope Clement VIII. He was declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIV in 1722 A.D. He is the first of three Spaniards to be declared Doctor of the Church - the other two being St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross (who lived a millenium after St. Isidore).


St. Isidore writes:


Prayer purifies us, reading instructs us. Both are good when both are possible. Otherwise, praying is better than reading. If a man wants to be always in God's company, he must pray regularly and read regularly. When we pray we talk to God; when we read, God talks to us. (from the "Book of Maxims", by St. Isidore of Seville)

References of this article

• Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney


• Saints for Our Time, by Ed Ransom


• The Doctors of the Church vol 1, by John F. Fink


• A Year With the Saints, by Don Bosco Press, Inc.

Memorial of Saints (April 3)

St. Richard of Chichester was elected bishop and consecrated at Lyons in 1245 A.D. He was a very kind and compassionate bishop - generous especially to those struck by famine. He promoted the Crusades with the intention of encouraging pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Many cures were reported at his shrine in Chichester Cathedral, England (died ca. 1253 A.D.).

Blessed Pedro Calungsod was a young Filipino catechist who joined the Jesuit Mission in the Marianas. Not much is known about him except for his humble and faithful work alongside Blessed Diego Luis San Vitores, SJ - superior of the Marianas Mission. The two were martyred in the island of Guam - killed by natives with spears and blows from a cutlass (died ca. 1672 A.D.).

St. Burgundofara was the daughter of a Count serving in the Frankish court, who renounced power and wealth, and decided to be a nun together with others. The King at first opposed her religious calling but eventually changed his mind and supported Burgundofara. The King built a monastery wherein St. Burgundofara became abbess for thirty-seven years. This monastery then came to be known as the Benedictine Abbey of Faremoutiers (died ca. 657 A.D.).

St. Sixtus I succeeded Pope St. Alexander I as Pope. His papacy lasted for about 10 years. Known to have suffered martyrdom, he is the seventh pope of the Church. As pope, his decree directed the faithful to join in saying the Sanctus as Mass. Another decree prohibited anyone, except the clergy, to touch the sacred vessels (died ca. 127 A.D.).

Sts. Agape, Chionia, and Irene were sisters who lived in Thessalonica. Since it was a crime in the Roman Empire at the time to possess texts of the Scriptures, the three were arrested and to be put to death. Agape and Chionia were burned alive while Irene was sent to a house of prostitution. Despite being stripped naked, Irene was miraculously unmolested. Irene was eventually also burned to the stake (died ca. 304 A.D.).

St. Nicetas was raised in a monastery when his widowed father became a monk. He eventually also grew up to be a monk, until he gained responsibility to become abbot. Because of the politics at the time, Nicetas was exiled to Anatolia. In time, he was able to go back to his monastery and supported the movement against iconoclasm. After suffering from the ensuing political conflicts that still were prevalent, Nicetas decided to live as a hermit near Constantinople until his death (died ca. 824 A.D.).

St. Luigi Scrosoppi followed his two older half-brothers to the priesthood. He worked with his brother Carlo to help the many orphans of Udine, Northern Italy. Upon reaching maturity, some of the girls who were educated by these two priests, set out to establish their own congregation in 1837 A.D. Anti-clericalism was rising at this time in Italy. Because of this, the sisters moved to Austrian territory while St. Luigi cooperated with the civil authorities to save the mission to Udine's orphans (died ca. 1884 A.D.).

Passion Sunday (A)

(Edited) Sunday reflections: (From) liturgical years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

April 13, 2014
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22
Philippians 2:6-11
Matthew 26:14 - 27:66

"Though He was in the form of God, He emptied himself and took the form of a slave."

The letter of Paul to the Philippians expresses well the core of Matthew's passion narrative: a narrative which begins from the betrayal of Judas Iscariot; to the Last Supper; to the Lord's arrest; to the trial before Pilate; to the Lord's scourging and crucifixion; to His entombment; and finally ending with the Pharisees arranging with Pilate for the guards in His grave. All these events reveal to us the humility and meekness the Lord exemplified as man even if He is God's beloved Son.

We can understand in depth the Lord's Passion and Death on the Cross,
if we refer to St. Andrew of Crete's (ca. 660-740 A.D.) message:

"Let us run to accompany him as he hastens toward his passion,
and to cover his path not with olive branches and palms, but by
doing all we can to prostrate ourselves before him by being
humble and by trying to live as he would wish. Then we shall
be able to receive the Word at his coming, and God, whom no
limits can contain will be within us.

The passion and death of our Lord has such a great influence and impact on many Catholics, that more time is devoted to contemplate on this mystery and gift of the faith. All Catholics can have a depth of spiritual insight if all reverently make an effort to kneel in deeper prayer and silence in the Eucharistic liturgy, when this part of the gospel is read:

"Jesus cried out in a loud voice, and then gave up his spirit."

The mystery and gift of Christ's self-sacrificing love for humanity penetrates the very core of man's mortal existence. Human suffering is a mystery; but through Jesus, everyone is given the gift to understand it in his person.

Scripture quote:
Though he was in the form of God, Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men...He humbled himself, obediently accepting death, death on a cross! (Philippians 2)