Casilda of Toledo

Saint Casilda of Toledo (Spanish: Santa Casilda de Toledo) (b. 1007<1050 - d. 1050<1107) is venerated as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Church. Her feast day is April 9.

Saint Casilda de Toledo
Saint Casilda, by Francisco de Zurbarán
Born1007<1050
Toledo
Died1050<1107[1]
Briviesca
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church
FeastApril 9
AttributesRoses in her basket or dress

Life

According to her legend, St. Casilda, a daughter of a Muslim king of Toledo (likely Ismaíl al-Záfir or his son Yahya ibn Ismail Al-Mamun), showed great compassion for Christian prisoners by frequently sneaking bread into the prison, hidden in her clothes, to feed them.[2] Once, she was stopped by her father and his Muslim soldiers, and asked to reveal what she was carrying in her skirt. When she began to show them, the bread turned into a bouquet of roses.[3]

She was raised a Muslim, but when she became ill as a young woman, she refused help from the local Arab doctors and traveled to northern Iberia to partake of the healing waters of the shrine of San Vicente, near Buezo, close to Briviesca.[2][3] When she was cured, she was baptized at Burgos (where she was later venerated) and lived a life of solitude and penance not far from the miraculous spring. It is said that she lived to be 100 years old.[4]

Images
  • Saint Casilda, by Francisco de Zurbarán
  • Saint Casilda, by Juan Rizi
  • St. Casilda Apprehended with her Basket, Burgos Cathedral
  • The Miracle of the Roses; by José Nogales Sevilla

Painted between 1638 and 1642, Zurbarán's Santa Casilda used as its model a lady of the Spanish court. She wears the fashions for courtiers of the time.[3]

Bibliography
  • Concha Espina, Casilda de Toledo (Madrid: Biblioteca nueva, 1940)

See also

References
  1. "St. Casilda of Toledo, Spain", Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
  2. "St. Casilda", Franciscan Media
  3. Zurbaran
  4. Butler, Alban; Burns, Paul (1999-01-01). Butler's Lives of the Saints: April. A&C Black. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-86012-253-1.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.