Matter and nature
Miracles Related to Harvests and Land
Harvest and land miracles concern subsistence before it becomes food: threatened fields, sterile vineyards, drought, hail, insects, or soil deemed unproductive. Sources attribute to a saint's prayer the protection of a harvest, the return of rain, or regained fertility. These accounts are often linked to a precise location and the rural memory of a community. They may also explain a patronage, a seasonal procession, or a shrine frequented by cultivators. The page distinguishes harvest from the multiplication of bread, which intervenes after production, and from simple animal mastery, unless the latter directly threatens crops. The source's words are preserved without reconstructing meteorology or yields. Sancteo thus presents a history of the relationships between holiness, agricultural work, and the vulnerability of ancient societies to climate.
- Accounts
- 132
- Saints
- 115
- Period
- 9th century BC – 19th century
Definition
Understanding this type of miracle
Harvest and land miracles concern subsistence before it becomes food: threatened fields, sterile vineyards, drought, hail, insects, or soil deemed unproductive.
Forms included from the sources
- field, land, vineyard, harvest, rain, and drought
Not to be confused with…
- already prepared food
Documented examples
Major figures
- Saint Laurien of Seville 6th century · 3 accounts
« His head, carried to Seville, miraculously ended seven years of drought. »
- Saint Friard 6th century · 3 accounts
« Uprooted tree replanted that survives and bears fruit »
- Saint Solange of Berry 9th century · 2 accounts
« End of the drought during processions »
- Saint Germier of Toulouse 6th century · 2 accounts
« Flowers blooming under his steps on the road to Frouzins »
Classified sources
Accounts in the corpus
132 results · page 1/3
Sign / wonder
Miraculous transformation of melons into stones
Harvests
« Turning melons into stones »
Sign / wonder
Annual flowering of Saint Torquat's olive tree
Harvests
« Annual miraculous blooming of an olive tree planted by Saint Torquatus on his feast day »
Mastery of the elements
Appearance of a miraculous spring
SpringsHarvests
« Miraculous spring gushing from his tomb in 633 to end a drought »
Sign / wonder
The Glastonbury Holy Thorn
Harvests
« Staff planted in the ground becoming a shrub that blooms at Christmas »
Sign / wonder
The miraculous pear tree of Embrun
Harvests
« Miraculous pear tree grown on the site of the relics in Embrun »
Sign / wonder
Didier's staff becomes covered in leaves
Harvests
« Ploughman's staff that becomes covered in leaves to designate God's chosen one »
Sign / wonder
The flowering staff of Saint Christopher
Harvests
« Staff planted in the ground that turns green and bears flowers »
Sign / wonder
The miraculous laurel on the tomb of Saint Baudilus
Harvests
« Miraculous laurel growing on his tomb in Nîmes »
Mastery of the elements
Cessation of a drought
Harvests
« Cessation of a drought through prayer »
Sign / wonder
Collapse of Onuphrius' cave
Harvests
« Immediate collapse of his cave and palm tree after his death to prevent Paphnutius from staying »
Mastery of the elements
Intercession for meteorological regulation
Harvests
« Obtaining rain or fair weather during processions »
Mastery of the elements
Miraculous destruction of the temple of Jupiter
Harvests
« Swallowing of idols and pagan priests by the earth »
Mastery of the elements
Obtaining rain through intercession
Harvests
« Obtaining rain during a drought »
Mastery of the elements
Obtaining rain through prayer
HarvestsSprings
« Obtaining abundant rain after a drought »
Sign / wonder
Obtaining rain through procession
Harvests
« Obtaining rain during processions »
Prophecy / infused knowledge
Prophecies regarding the Nile and military victories
Harvests
« Gift of prophecy regarding the flooding of the Nile and military victories »
Mastery of the elements
Protection against bad weather
Harvests
« Command over the elements (warding off storms and hurricanes) »
Mastery of the elements
Protection of crops against bad weather
Harvests
« Healing of the sick through prayer »
Mastery of the elements
Taming of wild beasts
Harvests
« Obedience of the wild beasts ravaging his garden »
Sign / wonder
The punishment of the pagan judge
Harvests
« The earth swallowing the pagan judge »
Multiplication / provision
Abundance of harvests after the invasion
Harvests
« Miraculous abundance of harvests after the passage of the Huns »
Sign / wonder
Dispersion of harmful birds
Harvests
« Dispersion of a flock of crows and wild geese »
Protection / deliverance
Institution of the Rogations in Vienne
Harvests
« Cessation of earthquakes and incursions of wild beasts through the institution of the Rogations »
Mastery of the elements
Miraculous disappearance of locusts
Harvests
« Disappearance of locusts after a prescribed fast »
Sign / wonder
Miraculous fertility on the saint's path
Harvests
« Grass and wheat grew more vigorously on the path she used »
Sign / wonder
Miraculous flowering of Saint Paul's staff
Harvests
« Instant blooming of a dry rod stuck into the ground »
Multiplication / provision
Miraculous multiplication of wheat
HarvestsFood
« Multiplication of a grain of wheat filling a granary »
Multiplication / provision
Miraculous multiplication of wheat
HarvestsFood
« Multiplication of wheat during the famine in Besançon »
Multiplication / provision
Multiplication of wheat by Saint John of Réome
Harvests
« Miraculous multiplication of wheat during a famine »
Mastery of the elements
Obtaining rain through prayer
Harvests
« Obtaining rain through prayer during a great drought »
Mastery of the elements
Obtaining rain through prayer
Harvests
« Obtaining rain after a great drought through prayer »
Mastery of the elements
Obtaining rain through procession
Harvests
« Abundant rain obtained after a procession »
Sign / wonder
Purification of the island of Lérins
Bites and poisonsHarvests
« Expulsion of the snakes from the island of Lérins »
Sign / wonder
Submission of a bear to plowing
Harvests
« Subjugation of a bear to replace an ox in a yoke »
Mastery of the elements
Cessation of a drought
HarvestsSprings
« Cessation of a drought in 1060 »
Mastery of the elements
Cessation of a torrential rain
Harvests
« Cessation of a torrential rain through prayer »
Sign / wonder
Dispersion of a swarm of wasps
Harvests
« Dispersion of a swarm of wasps by the sign of the cross »
Mastery of the elements
End of the drought in Seville
Harvests
« End of a seven-year drought in Seville upon the arrival of his head »
Mastery of the elements
End of the drought in Seville
Harvests
« Celestial guidance for Eusebius of Arles regarding the burial »
Mastery of the elements
End of the drought in Seville through the relic of Saint Laurien
Harvests
« Numerous miracles during the translation of the relics to Vatan »
Mastery of the elements
Eradication of a worm infestation using holy water
HarvestsSprings
« Extermination of crop-destroying worms by sprinkling holy water »
Mastery of the elements
Eradication of destructive worms
HarvestsSprings
« Miracles demonstrating his holiness to local lords »
Mastery of the elements
Intercession for rain
Harvests
« Miracles marking his death »
Sign / wonder
Miraculous blooming on the road to Frouzins
Harvests
« Flowers blooming under his footsteps on the road to Frouzins »
Mastery of the elements
Miraculous movement of an oak tree
Harvests
« Moving a large oak tree through prayer »
Sign / wonder
Miraculous plowing with wild animals
Harvests
« Transformation of deer and a wolf into beasts of burden for plowing »
Mastery of the elements
Obtaining a miraculous rain
Harvests
« Obtaining miraculous rain after a disastrous drought »
Mastery of the elements
Obtaining rain in Arles
Harvests
« Sudden rain ending a drought upon his return to Arles »
Editorial transparency
Method and sources
Sancteo presents these accounts as hagiographic and historical traditions, without ruling on their origin or making medical or spiritual promises.
Volumes are calculated from technically validated classifications in the canonical database. Each figure above has a quotation directly linked to this theme. Last recalculated: .
Editorial responsibility: Sancteo · Corpus source: Les Petits Bollandistes and documented enrichments. Version: miracle-topic-editorial-en-v1.