Saint Zita’s Life and Road to Becoming a Saint
By: Abigail Monahan
Hard work is a challenge for everybody, but to do hard work to perfection without a single complaint is the ultimate challenge. It makes sense that one could become a saint by doing all this, while helping others, and being completely involved in their faith; these are some of the reasons why we honor Saint Zita. Although Zita’s life was full of challenges, because of her hard working character and her devotion to the catholic faith, she lived a fulfilling life in the image of God. The challenges she faced throughout her life began in her early childhood, where she was born into a poor but devoutly catholic family. When she was only twelve, she went off to work for a rich silk…show more content… To become recognized as a saint one must have lived a holy life, in what they did, what they wrote, and how they interacted with people. Then they must perform one miracle to be beatified, and a second miracle will allow them to be canonized and recognized as a saint. These miracles must be performed for someone who was praying for their help, and the church will look at both miracles very closely. Zita performed many miracles before and after her death. There are two famous miracles performed by St. Zita before her death, and many miracles attributed to her name after her death. One of her famous miracles performed while she was alive is as follows: The city of Lucca had a famine, and St. Zita’s master had a large supply of beans. Zita generosity to the poor caused her to distribute some of her master’s beans to the poor and hungry. One day her master decided to sell the beans for a great profit, but Zita had given most of them away, and she was afraid her boss would find out and fire her. Through a great miracle, the beans were multiplied when her master found them. St. Zita died April 27, 1272 and was buried in the church of San Frediano in Lucca, where she had went to mass everyday. The tomb was rediscovered in 1580, and she was named an “incorruptible” because her body had not fully decomposed. She was kept in the San Frediano church with her face and hands uncovered, and she still hasn’t decomposed. She performed many miracles after her death, one of them being healing a woman who was lame and blind for ten years. The woman was brought by an attendant to St. Zita’s tomb to pray for ten days, and she made a full recovery accredited to St. Zita. She was beatified in 1652 by Pope Innocent X, and Pope Leo X approved an office in her honor in Lucca, Italy. Pope Innocent XII confirmed she lived a holy life, and she was canonized her in 1696. She was added to Roman Martyrology 1748 by Pope