4/27/2007

A to Zita

I've heard St.Zita mentioned before, but never had occasion to read her story, retold at Catholic Culture for today, her feast:

St. Zita
The little barefoot girl who carried her father's lunch to him as he worked in the fields could not dream that one day the Church would enroll her among the saints. Zita fancied that all her life was to be spent in her native village of Monte Sagradi in Italy. When she was twelve years old, she became a maidservant in the home of a wealthy family of nearby Lucca. Although the other servants treated her harshly for a time, her generous, winsome manners won their hearts, and this treatment ceased. Soon Zita's employers gave her charge of their lively boys and girls, for they realized that she would mold them to a lovely pattern of virtue. A few years passed. Miracles were wrought by the young governess. They were not great ones, but they were true miracles. One day the Church examined them and declared them to be authentic.

St. Zita, maid of Lucca, is the record of a life simply and obscurely lived. It is an unsullied page of living Scripture upon which one word was written: Jesus! It was Zita's favorite word.

— Rev. Vincent F. Kienberger, O.P.

Patron: Domestic workers.

It makes me want to see what other "Z" saints are out there: Zachary, Zeno, Zita, Zoe, and Zozimus, a name that truly begs resurrection [According to Julie, this makes me a Catholic Nerd, as if that wasn't apparent already]. The Index says of St. Zozimus, "Brought to Rome with Saint Ignatius of Antioch during the persecutions of Trajan. Martyred with Saint Rufus." How? might you ask--"mangled by wild animals in the arena".

Seeing Pope St. Zephyrinus in the list makes me think that if I were ever elected pope, I'd choose Zephyrinus II, just to rescue the name from obscurity. But actually, I already gave this quite a bit of thought, and sincerely, I would choose William, my middle name. It suggests a Western heritage and translates easily into other languages. I also like Pope St. Soter, known for giving alms, and Pope St. Fabian, upon whom it was said a dove descended, thus inspiring his election.

If you were Pope, what name would you choose?

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