Saint of September 9: Santa María de la Cabeza. Catholic Santoral

Every September 9, Santa María de la Cabeza, María Toribia, wife of San Isidro Labrador, is remembered.

Saint where God loved her

María Toribia was probably born in Torrelaguna (Spain) between the end of the eleventh century and the beginning of the twelfth. He was the wife of San Isidro Labrador, with whom he had a son. For many years he dedicated himself to the attention and service of his home; Then, when her son reached maturity and full agreement with her husband, she consecrated himself to contemplative life.

Santa María de la Cabeza was a woman of remarkable humility, of great patience, devotion and spirit of austerity.

THE MIRACLE OF THE POZO

According to an ancient tradition, the small and only son of María Toribia, Illán, accidentally fell to a deep well. Upon realizing what happened, María Toribia and Isidro, her husband, ran to help the child, but without finding a way to get the little one. Thus, with the soul in suspense, both parents began to pray with such faith that, suddenly, the waters of the well began to rise and rise, until the little one, who floated sitting on a basket, reached the mouth of the well, safe and sound.

The same tradition affirms that María and Isidro lived their marriage to authentic Christian spirit. They were very close and their contemporaries recognized it: they were a single heart and a single soul. Prayer as a couple had strengthened them not only to face the vicissitudes of everyday life but God raised in them the desire to live a completely consecrated life to him, in silence and contemplation.

A very special call

With that yearning they decided to “separate” after their son became an adult. Isidro stayed in Madrid and Maria left for a hermitage near the Jarama River, where in addition to devoting himself to contemplative prayer he made charity works in nearby places. He lived in the forest as a farmer and was in charge of cleaning and the arrangement of a nearby chapel.

It is said that some men tried to put San Isidro against his wife with slander about their behavior. The saint rejected those injurious comments, but for some weakness, he decided to look for her to make sure everything was a lie.

San Isidro, then, on the way to where Maria lived, saw her distance. He saw that he was about to cross the river and, before leaving the shore, he delicately extended his mantilla on the water, and then climb on it and cross to the other end, without getting wet, as if the blanket was a boat. Isidro was hit by the miracle seen and felt that his heart was filled with peace.

The head

Years later, Santa María de la Cabeza returned to Madrid where he stayed for a while. After Isidro’s death, the Santa returned to Torrelaguna and stayed there until God called her to meet around the year 1175.

After his death, his skull was placed in a reliquary in the hermitage of the Virgen del Pueblo. Precisely, being his skull the relic with which he began to recognize, people began to call it Santa María Toribia “de la Cabeza”.

The saint is usually represented carrying a jug and a ladle, in allusion to domestic tasks and service to the poorest; Always looking at the sky, like her husband, San Isidro Labrador, who usually appears close to her.