St. Zita

Zita was born in thirteenth century Tuscany to a poor family. At age twelve she became a maid for the Fatinelli family. Here her cheerful, helpful disposition and hard work made her fellow workers jealous of her at first; her employers at first resented the fact that she was very generous with the poor. After several years of gentle, whole-hearted devotion to her duties and the needs of her fellow servants, Zita won their admiration and that of her employers. She was placed in charge of the other servants, but she took no revenge for the years they had mistreated her. Her employers grew to trust her so much that they allowed her to distribute alms for them as she saw fit and to work at the hours she chose. Zita attended daily Mass and during her time off she tended to the sick and the poor in the city. She spent over forty years as a maid to the Fatinelli family and after her death on April 27, 1271 many miracles were attributed to her. She soon became venerated as a saint in Lucca, Tuscany and the surrounding area. Her cult was officially approved in 1696. Much of what we know about Zita comes from a written account by her employers. St. Zita is the patron of domestic workers.