Dear Friends,
Seeing the name of St. Zita on Bill East's post reminded me of summers in
Paris during my teens and twenties, ie, in the 1960's and '70's. At that
time I had the good fortune to know Titine, a maid/housekeeper/nanny who had
entered my grandparents' service in 1902 at the age of 26 or 27, straight
from her father's farm in the Limousin. Titine was very religious and had a
great devotion to St. Zita. In the 19th and earlier 20th centuries, there
were confraternities of St. Zita organized all over France (and, I suspect,
Italy) developed specifically for the large class of household domestics the
Church wished to keep in the fold. She was one of a number of similar role
models whose names I have since forgotten.
Titine lived with my family for 75 years and is buried with the family. She
died at 101 1/2, mentally and physically as sharp as a tack.
Christine Roussel
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