St. Zita
Italian servant and Catholic saint from Lucca, patron of domestic workers (lived c.1212-1272)
Feast: 27 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Zita, of a poor family near Lucca, entered service with the Fatinelli family at twelve, doing her work as service to God. Her fellow servants and employers ill-treated her, but she kept her peace and loved those who wronged her.
Her meekness won them over, and she was put in charge of the household. She gave generously to the poor, and died at Lucca on 27 April 1271. Miracles followed at her intercession; she is patroness of domestic servants.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: she has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
A servant who made her work a prayer.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Zita
- Wikidata Q744884 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Zita (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.