By SSND Associate, Fran Bond
February 8, the Feast Day of Saint Josephine Bakhita, is observed in the Catholic Church around the world as the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking.
Saint Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan in 1869 and died in Schio (Vicenza) in 1947. As an eight-year-old, Bakhita was seized by Arab slave traders and over the course of twelve brutal years, she was sold many times to owners who were cruel and abusive. Bakhita was taken to Italy and by chance placed in the care of the Canossian Sisters of Venice. It was her first encounter with Christianity.
She was baptized when she was 21 years old; three years later in 1893, Josephine Bakhita entered the novitiate of the Canossian Sisters where her life changed. Her special charisma and reputation for sanctity were noticed by her order; and her story (Storia Meravigliosa) published in 1931 made her famous throughout Italy.
She remained in the convent for 42 years. Her last years were marked by pain and sickness, but she never lost her cheerfulness. She died February 8, 1947.
The petitions for her canonization began immediately, and Pope John XXIII commenced the process in 1959. On the first of December 1992, she was declared Blessed and given February 8 as her feast day. On October 1, 2000, she was canonized as Saint Josephine Bakhita.
She is venerated as a modern African saint and as a statement against the brutal history of slavery. She has been adopted as the patron saint of modern Sudan and human trafficking survivors.
Her story of deliverance from physical slavery also symbolizes all those who find meaning and inspiration in her life for their own deliverance from slavery.
