Pocket Size Retablo: Approximately 3 ½” x 1 ½” - Made by hand in the USA
This collection represents blessings and protection with patronages and prayers to address most aspects of our daily lives.
Inscription on back: (see pictures)
San Isidro - Saint Isidore the Farmer
Patronage: Farmers & gardeners, Patron saint of Madrid, and of La Ceiba, Honduras
11th Century - Madrid. Labored as a farmer for Juan Diego. It is said that angels came down and plowed his field with white oxen. His bags of corn were miraculously refilled after he fed a flock of starving birds.
"Holy San Isidro, Bless my land, let the rain, rain and the sun shine and all good things of earth feed my crops,
so they may be bountiful and good."
Description: Isidro was a pious farm worker for the landowner Juan de Vargas outside of Madrid. He was named after St. Isidore of Seville. He married Maria, a woman who is also beatified. They had one son who died in his youth. The couple became chaste so that they might give their full attention to prayer and doing good works. Isidro shared all he had with both men and animals. It is said that angels came and plowed his field with white oxen while he was in prayer. One winter, after he fed a flock of starving birds, his bags of corn were miraculously refilled.
Carry a pocket saint/angel: Some people carry saint/angels because it is their patron saint, as a devotion or a reminder of devotion and prayer. They are also carried as a sort of protection, that is, if the saint/angel is blessed. People carry pocket saint/angels with devotion, commitment, affection, and love.
Display a retablo: They are displayed in homes to honor the saint/angel or given as gifts of fortune and inspiration, retablos reflect a beloved historical tradition and cultural artistry.
History: The retablo, or ʻboard behind the altarʼ, was originally created in New Mexico in the 1800ʼs in response to the lack of Bibles and Icons being sent from the church in Rome. The Santero (saint maker) painted retablos from pigment collected and ground from the local surroundings. The boards were hand hewed usually of ponderosa pine or tin. The practice has carried down through the generations and is still done this way today.
Artist: Lynn Garlick: Her original designs are hand-carved and painted with watercolor or occasionally oil on the traditionally used ponderosa pine planks. Then the high quality prints of the originals are decoupaged onto pine boards, in an old school technique used for the Italian altar screens of medieval Europe and are finished with polyurethane. These prints are produced with a deep appreciation of the santero and what has come before.