Born in the mid-10th century, Casilda was raised a Muslim and was well versed in the Koran, yet long before her conversion she showed great piety towards God and generosity towards Christians. From the beginning she was seeking God. Casilda’s mother died when she was young. Her father was emir of Toledo, an important town in central Spain which had been recaptured by Arab Muslims in 932. The period from the 8th to the 15th century is known as La Convivencia (“getting along together”), an era when – so it is said – Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in a degree of harmony. This appealing picture has been debated by historians who point to the ongoing conflict of the time, but in the life of Casilda it may have some truth. As the daughter of a Muslim ruler, she was able to help Christian prisoners in the jails by taking them food and medicine. According to one story, similar to that told of other saints, on one such errand she was stopped and searched by a group of soldiers. When she opened her cloak, the provisions had turned into roses. After they let her through, they became food and medicine again. While with the Christian prisoners Casilda asked them questions about their faith. They found themselves evangelising the emir’s daughter. After a while she decided that she wanted to be baptised.When Casilda fell ill – with the same mysterious sickness that had killed her mother – she thought of a holy place one of the prisoners had told her about: the wells of San Vicente, near Briviesca. She went there and, on touching the water, was cured. She was soon baptised. Casilda’s thoughts returned to the solitary life of prayer; from thenceforth she lived as a hermit, much loved by the local population.