Profile
Zita was born to a very poor but pious family. At age twelve, she became a domestic servant for the wealthy Fainelli family in Lucca, Italy, a position she kept all her life; she looked at it as a way to serve God. She often gave her own food, and sometimes that of her master, to those poorer than herself, which caused her to get in frequent trouble with her employers and the other servants in the house who resented her. However, she did such a fine job she was eventually placed in charge of the house, and entrusted with its keys. She attended daily Mass before beginning her duties, and would go to a nearby monastery to pray in private. Her reputation was such that Dante in the Inferno referred to the city of Lucca as “Santa Zita”.
Born
- 1218 at Bozzanello, Monte Sagrate, Tuscany, Italy
Died
- 27 April 1272 at Lucca, Italy of natural causes
- buried in the church of San Frediano in Lucca
- her tomb was re-discovered in 1580
Beatified
- 1652 by Pope Innocent X
- during the recognition proceedings, her remains were found to be incorrupt
Canonized
- the office in her honour approved by Pope Leo X
- 5 September 1696 by Pope Innocent XII (cultus confirmed)
- added to the Roman Martyrology in 1748 by Pope Benedict XIV
Patronage
- against losing keys
- butlers
- domestic servants (proclaimed by Pope Pius XII)
- homemakers
- housemaids
- lost keys
- maids
- manservants
- people ridiculed for their piety
- rape victims
- servants
- servers
- single laywomen
- waiters, waitstaff, waitresses
- Lucca, Italy
Representation
- bag
- cooking equipment
- dishes
- keys
- kitchen equipment
- loaves
- plates
- platters
- rosary
- serving maid with a bag and keys
Source: http://catholicsaints.mobi/calendar/27-april.htm
