Saint Casilda of Toledo was the daughter of the Berber ruler of Toledo in 1oth-century Spain. A faithful Muslim, Casilda still felt compassion for her father’s Christian prisoners and found the courage to visit the prison with bread for them hidden in the folds of her dress. This led her into grave danger, either from her father himself or from his soldiers, according to varying accounts. But in a moment of crisis, Casilda experienced a gorgeous, fragrant miracle that saved her life.

I first encountered Saint Casilda while researching Seven Holy Women. Her story fascinated me, so I included her among the seven, and my friend Melissa Naasko wrote Casilda’s chapter. Melissa felt so befriended by Casilda that she commissioned the only Orthodox icon of Caslida of which we are aware.

Fine art paintings and other western images of Casilda are easily found (see below). Because of the time when she lived (the turn of the first millennium), she is venerated in both Orthodox and Catholic traditions. The Catholics seem to know more about her, possibly because she lived in Spain, and I suspect this accounts for the dearth of iconography.

Once again, Kristina Tartara illustrated my story for this SVS Press board book. I love working with Kristina! As always, her research brings a wealth of contextual detail to her colorful illustrations.

You’ll see evidence of Kristina’s remarkable patience as well in the illustration of Saint Casilda with her arms full of beautiful, hand-drawn-one-by-one roses. Kristina also kept up her tradition of granting the main character tiny animal friends to accompany her on her adventures. Be sure to look for a friendly mouse or two!

Saint Casilda Brings the Bread is available from SVSPress and on the Ancient Faith Store and Amazon.