Saint Josephine Bakhita:

Feast day : 08 February

Today is the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita who lived during the period 1869 to 1947. She was a former Sudanese slave who was freed from slavery and later on became a Canossian Sister in Italy. She was canonised in the year 2000. During the Mass of her canonization, Pope John Paul II said “The law of the Lord is perfect,...it gives wisdom to the simple (Psalm 19:8). These words from today’s Responsorial Psalm resound powerfully in the life of Sr. Josephine Bakhita. Abducted and sold into slavery at the tender age of seven, she suffered much at the hands of cruel masters. But she came to understand the profound truth that God, and not man, is the true Master of every human being, of every human life. This became a source of great wisdom for this humble daughter of Africa.” She is the patron saint of Sudan and of survivors of human trafficking

Early life:

Saint Josephine Bakhita was born in Darfur into a large loving family who were adequately wealthy and respected in their village. In her own words, she did not know what suffering was till the day she was abducted and forced into slavery at the tender age of 7. She was named Bakhita meaning ‘lucky’ by her abductors and sold several times by Arab slave traders to cruel masters who tortured her. Her early life was scarred with the memories of the horrible tortures that she alongwith the other abducted children were subjected to. In 1883 she was bought by the Italian Vice Consul Callisto Legnani in Khartoum. He treated her kindly. When Legnani returned to Italy, he took her alongwith him and handed her over to the care of an Italian family where she remained for three years serving them in their home. However, God had other plans for her.

Knowing Christ:

In November 1988, when her mistress had to leave for Sudan, she entrusted her to the care of the Canossian Sisters in Venice. They introduced her to Jesus and the love of God for the first time. She experienced the love of Christ in her spirit that was so crushed under the painful memories of the tortures she endured in her early life. She realised that whether or not other people understood her, she could always talk to God, who understood everything, and didn’t require words. She began talking to God from her heart whilst doing her chores and when time would permit she would spend hours before the Crucifix seeking solace in God.

When her owner returned to take her back to their home, she refused to go back. It was an ordeal to take a stand but she drew her strength from long hours of prayer in front of the Crucifix. Finally on 29 November 1889 an Italian court ruled in her favour and granted her freedom. From thereon she chose to live for the Lord. She remained with the Canossian Sisters and on 9 January 1890 was baptized with the names of Josephine Margaret and Fortunata (meaning Bakhita in Arabic). On the same day she was also confirmed and received Holy Communion from Archbishop Giuseppe Sarto, the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice, who later became Pope Pius X.

Vocational life:

On 7 December 1893 Josephine Bakhita entered the novitiate of the Canossian Sisters and on 8 December 1896 she took her vows. In 1902 she was assigned to the Canossian convent at Schio, in the northern Italian province of Vicenza, where she spent the rest of her life, serving the missions she was assigned to and sharing her experiences with the people. She was popular and fondly called the ‘Black Mother’. When people would sympathise with her she would say “I am not a poor thing because I belong to the Master, and I’m in his house. People who don’t know Our Lord – they’re the ones who are poor!” She often defended her persecutors and prayed for them saying “Poor things, they weren’t wicked. They didn’t know God. I pray for them a lot, that Our Lord who has been so very good and generous to me will be the same with them, and bring them all to conversion and salvation.” She ardently desired that more people would come to know the saving love of our Lord Jesus.

Death and Sainthood:

She served as a Canossian for 50 years. In the year 1946 her health deteriorated and she received her last Holy Communion on the morning of 08 February 1946, the day she died. Towards evening she said, “The chains on my feet are so heavy,” She pretended to be taking them off while actually lifting the bedcovers saying “That’s fine. Now I must go over there, to St. Peter.” The Sister who was beside her promised to take her to the St. Peter Cathedral to which she replied “No, not that St. Peter’s there, but St. Peter in heaven. I’ll introduce myself to him and ask him to call the Madonna to me...” At that moment her face was transformed with a radiant smile, as if she really was seeing the Madonna. “Look, look! You’re here? Come, come, let’s go to the foundress...So when I’m there, I will never have to go away again, and I’ll be there for ever.” Those were her last words. Next morning when her death was announced in all the churches in Schio, people flocked to pay their respects. Many miracles were reported. Her belongings were taken by people as relics and she was laid to rest on 11 February 1946.

She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000. During the Mass of her canonization, Pope John Paul II said “The law of the Lord is perfect,...it gives wisdom to the simple (Psalm 19:8). These words from today’s Responsorial Psalm resound powerfully in the life of Sr. Josephine Bakhita. Abducted and sold into slavery at the tender age of seven, she suffered much at the hands of cruel masters. But she came to understand the profound truth that God, and not man, is the true Master of every human being, of every human life. This became a source of great wisdom for this humble daughter of Africa.” Her feast is celebrated on February 8.