The Servant Saint: Zita of Lucca and Sitha of England (1278-1550)

The cult of St Zita (d. 1278) has not been extensively examined by modern scholarship. Apart from some general consideration by art historians and hagiographers such as Andre Vauchez, Michael Goodich and Diana Webb, little discussion has been given to the veneration of this saint during the medieval period.1 The lack of scholarship is, perhaps, due to the few surviving sources. However, the visual evidence still demonstrates several unique aspects of Zita's cult. The most notable is the geographic concentration of·her cult. Venerated as a saint in her native Lucca soon after her death, Zita was not well- known elsewhere in Italy and her worship always remained a strictly local phenomenon in Italy. By contrast, she was accepted on a national scale in England. Her adoption by a foreign community shortly after her cult was established show several transformations of her patron abilities as a holy intercessor, so that she was capable of helping the English in different ways.