News: Join us in a novena to St. Isadore, patron of farmers
September 21, 2020
On Aug. 10, a derecho storm blew through Iowa damaging 14 million acres of cropland, representing over 50 percent of all of Iowa’s cropland, and destroying farm buildings, silos, and rural communities. The town of Cedar Rapids was devastated as well.
One of the themes St. Paul repeats in his letters in Holy Scripture is the truth that as Christians, we are the body of Christ, and like our physical body, “If one member suffers, all suffer together….”
Catholic Rural Life, in conjunction with the dioceses of Iowa—Archdiocese of Dubuque and Dioceses of Davenport, Sioux City and Des Moines—is leading a novena in honor of St. Isidore, the Farmer, led each day by a bishop. The focus of this novena is to remember all who have suffered loss as a result of the storm, and pray for the rebuilding of the communities and farms impacted by the storm.
Please join us for this novena that began on Monday, Sept. 21, and ends on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The novena will be broadcast via Facebook and can be found on Catholic Rural Life’s website . Bishop William Joensen will be leading the novena on Sept. 24.
Who is Catholic Rural Life?
Catholic Rural Life is a national, Catholic nonprofit organization dedicated to the vitality of the American countryside. Since 1923, it has been promoting Catholic life in rural America.
Headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, CRL is a membership-based organization, comprised of dedicated bishops, laity, and religious who are joined in a common effort to serve the rural Church, rural people, and their communities.
Who is St. Isidore?
St. Isidore is the patron saint of farmers and Catholic Rural Life. He was a very prayerful man and particularly devoted to daily Mass and the Holy Eucharist. It was said that because of this, two angels, one on either side of Isidore, appeared and joined their pious companion in plowing the fields.
Schedule
Day 1 - Monday, Sept. 21, Archbishop Michael Jackels, Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa
10 am Central/11 am Eastern
Day 2 - Tuesday, Sept. 22, Bishop Thomas Zinkula, Diocese of Davenport, Iowa
10 am Central/11 am Eastern
Day 3 - Wednesday, Sept. 23, Archbishop Michael Jackels, Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa
10 am Central/11 am Eastern
Day 4 - Thursday, Sept. 24, Bishop William Joensen, Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa
10 am Central/110 am Eastern
Day 5 - Friday, Sept. 25, Bishop William Joensen, Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa
10 am Central/11 am Eastern
Day 6 - Saturday, Sept. 26, Bishop R. Walker Nickless, Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa
10 am Central/11 am Eastern
Day 7 - Sunday, Sept, 27, Bishop Robert Gruss, Diocese of Saginaw, Michigan
11 am Central/12 pm Eastern
Day 8 - Monday, Sept. 28, Bishop Brendan Cahill, Diocese of Victoria, Texas
10 am Central/11 am Eastern
Day 9 - Tuesday, Sept. 29, Bishop Brendan Cahill, Diocese of Victoria, Texas
10 am Central/11 am Eastern