Saint Josephine Bakhita

Who is she?

Saint Josephine Bakhita was a Sudanese sister who had once been a slave. She is the patron saint of Sudan, and her feast day is also the World Day of Prayer against Human Trafficking. On 1 October 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized her.

Life story

She was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa, in the Darfur region of Sudan. When she was about 8 or 9, she was kidnapped by slave traders. She was so terrified that she forgot her own name. They called her Bakhita, which means “lucky one.” She was sold from one master to another and treated very cruelly.

In 1883, in the capital city of Khartoum, she was bought by an Italian consul. He treated her kindly. Two years later, she went with him to Italy, and then lived with the Michieli family, looking after their little daughter.

When the Michieli family had to travel far away, Bakhita and the little girl were left with the Canossian sisters in Venice. There, Bakhita came to know Jesus. She told how, for a long time, when she looked at the sun, the moon and the stars, she had wondered who the Master of those beautiful things was; now she had met him.

When her mistress wanted to take her back to Africa, Bakhita asked to stay. On 29 November 1889, the Italian authorities officially declared that she was free. On 9 January 1890, she was baptized with the name Josephine, and at the same time was confirmed and made her First Communion. In 1896, she made her vows in the Canossian Daughters of Charity.

From 1902, she lived in the convent in the town of Schio, working in the kitchen, looking after the chapel and minding the door. She was gentle, smiled a lot, and was kind to children and the poor. Someone once asked her: if she met the people who had kidnapped her, what would she do? She answered that she would kneel down and kiss their hands, because thanks to what had happened, she had come to know God and become a sister. Those words show her forgiveness; they do not mean that the evil those people did was good. She died on 8 February 1947 in Schio.

Why is she a saint?

Saint Bakhita suffered a great deal, but she did not let her heart become bitter. When she met Jesus, she knew that she was loved beyond measure. She responded with gratitude, humble service and complete forgiveness.

A lesson for you

• No matter how others treat you, you are still God’s precious child.
• Practice forgiving the person who made you sad, and pray for them.
• Pray for children who are forced into hard labor or are being trafficked.