ZITA (Cita), Saint. - Virgin of Lucca, b. at Monsagrati (Tuscany) in 1218, d. at Lucca on 27 April 1272, as the contemporary Vita attests (cf. Acta SS. cited below, p. 507).
At the age of 12, in service in the Patinelli household of Lucca, she had to suffer from the harshness of her masters and of her fellow servants; but having later won esteem and trust, she was entrusted with the management of the house. Immediately after her death, the fame of her sanctity, confirmed by numerous miracles, aroused the veneration of the faithful. Her body was placed in the basilica of St. Frediano at Lucca, where it is venerated almost incorrupt. The cult of the saint was authorized by Paganello, bishop of Lucca, around May 1278 (Dante mentions "one of the elders of St. Z."; Inferno, XXI, 34-42); confirmed by Innocent XII on 5 Sept. 1696, it spread throughout Italy, then through Europe and America. The saint is invoked by domestic servants, of whom she was declared patroness on 26 Sept. 1953. Feast on 27 April.
Bibliography6 worksthe Vita, by a contemporary, partly in Acta SS. Aprilis, III, Antwerp 1675, pp. 499-510, is preserved in a 14th-century manuscript copy at L
BIBL.: the Vita, by a contemporary, partly in Acta SS. Aprilis, III, Antwerp 1675, pp. 499-510, is preserved in a 14th-century manuscript copy at Lucca (Bibl. governativa). The Miracula, recorded by a contemporary notary, in Acta SS., loc. cit., pp. 510-27. Acts of the canonization process of the 17th century, in Arch. vescovile di Lucca. Biographies: A. Guerra, Istoria della vita di s. Z., 2nd ed., Parma 1895; F. P. Luiso, L'anziano di s. Z., Lucca 1927 (cf. review by B. de Gaiffier, in Anal. Bolland, 48 [1930], pp. 229-30); C. Boffa, S. Z., vergine lucchese, Alba 1935; G. Casali, S. Z., Lucca 1936; Martyr, Romanum, pp. 158-59; P. Puccinelli, S. Z., vergine lucchese, Lucca 1940.
Schmitt, Clemente. “Zita (Cita), santa.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. XII, col. 1805. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1954. https://azioneromana.com/article/zita-cita-santa.
MLA
Schmitt, Clemente. “Zita (Cita), santa.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. XII, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1954, col. 1805. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/zita-cita-santa.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec12_zita_cita_santa,
author = {Schmitt, Clemente},
title = {Zita (Cita), santa},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {XII},
pages = {1805},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1954},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/zita-cita-santa}
}
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