St. Josephine Bakhita
Feast Day: February 8
“I invite the whole Church to invoke the intercession of St Bakhita upon all our persecuted and enslaved brothers and sisters, especially in Africa and in her native Sudan, that they may know reconciliation and peace.”
Who is St. Josephine Bakhita?
“The Catholic Church intends to intervene in every phase of the trafficking of human beings; she wants to protect them from deception and solicitation; she wants to find them and free them when they are transported and reduced to slavery; she wants to assist them once they are freed.”
-Pope Francis in an interview on February 12, 2018, in Clementine Hall
St. Josephine Bakhita was born in the Darfur region of Sudan in 1869 and was kidnapped by slave traders and enslaved as a child. She was forced to walk barefoot over 600 miles and was sold multiple times to different owners before being sold to an Italian diplomat that took her to Italy; here, she valiantly asserted her freedom with the help of the Cannossian Sisters of Venice. Through her faith, St. Bakhita realized the promise of liberty inherent in the human spirit. She lived out the rest of her life as a Cannossian sister, sharing her empowering testimony of human freedom and dignity.
Following her rescue, she was baptized, received other sacraments, and became a religious sister in 1896. Her enslavement during her childhood were put to good use by sharing her testimony with others and advocating for human freedom and dignity. In October of 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized Josephine Bakhita, noting that in this saint, “we find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation.”
With encouragement from Pope Francis, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the International Union of Superiors General designated February 8th as an annual day of prayer and reflection against human trafficking. We pray that we may work together to remove the causes of this disgraceful scourge in all our cities and neighborhoods. We take bold action to help others grow in awareness of the problem of human trafficking taking place in their communities. We seek opportunities to accompany victims and survivors in their journey toward freedom and assist them in the process of renewal. As a Church in the United States and as Catholics the Feast Day of St. Josephine lays a groundwork for February 8, which is both a Vatican designated day of prayer and reflection against human trafficking to honor, celebrate the Feast Day of St. Josephine Bakhita and use this as an opportunity to educate, inform the public and honor the saint.
In celebration of her Feast Day, Catholics around the globe are encouraged to attend and/or host prayer services to generate greater awareness of the issues around human trafficking. Praying helps reflect on the experiences of those currently being trafficked while promoting human dignity, strength, and comfort and helping empower survivors of this horrible experience.