Feast day · February 8
St. Josephine Bakhita
Virgin, Religious
Born c. 1869, Darfur, SudanDied 1947, Schio, Italy
“If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands.”
Kidnapped and enslaved as a child, she found freedom in Christ and became a Canossian sister loved by an entire town.
The story
Sold five times and so traumatized she forgot her own name, Bakhita ("fortunate") was brought to Italy, where an Italian court declared her free. She was baptized in 1890, taking the name Josephine, and spent forty-five years as a Canossian sister in Schio, gentle and cheerful, calling God "the Master" whom she had finally found. Pope Benedict XVI made her the face of Christian hope in Spe Salvi.
What Josephine teaches
No wound is beyond redemption. Bakhita forgave her captors and said she would kiss their hands, because through them she had come to know Christ.
Patronage
Sudan, victims of human trafficking.
Prayer
St. Josephine Bakhita, you knew the chains of slavery and the freedom of Christ. Intercede for all who are trafficked and enslaved today, and heal every wounded heart. Amen.
Want to go deeper on St. Josephine Bakhita? Ask AskCatholic