Also known as
- Cita
- Sita
- Citha
- Sitha
Profile
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. 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
- 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
- 1652 by Pope Innocent X
- during the recognition proceedings, her remains were found to be incorrupt
- 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
- 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
- waitpersons
- waitresses
- —
- Lucca, Italy
- bag
- cooking equipment
- dishes
- keys
- kitchen equipment
- loaves
- plates
- platters
- rosary
- serving maid with a bag and keys
Storefront
Additional Information
- American Catholic
- Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Catholic Encyclopedia
- Catholic Herald
- Catholic News Agency
- Kirken i Norge
- Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler
- Medieval Religion Listserv, by John Dillon
- Medieval Religion Listserv, by Terri Morgan
- Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
- Roman Martyrology
- Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church
- uCatholic
MLA Citation
- “Saint Zita of Lucca“. Saints.SQPN.com. 3 May 2013. Web. 18 June 2013. <>