She was gentle and charismatic, and was often referred to lovingly as the "little brown sister" or honorably as the "black mother.". Episcopal Church in the United States of America, "AFROL Background Josephine Bakhita an African Saint", "Canossian Daughters of Charity Who We Are", Black Catholic Theology: A Historical Perspective, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Josephine_Bakhita&oldid=1152154584, 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns, Sudanese Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns, Christian female saints of the Late Modern era, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using Template:Post-nominals with customized linking, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 1 October 2000, St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II, This page was last edited on 28 April 2023, at 15:04. What was she known for? She was beatified on 17 May 1992 and canonized on 1 October 2000. He had destined me for better things.. The terrified girl was bought and sold at least two times over the next few months and forced to walk hundreds of miles on foot to a slave market in Al-Ubayyi in south-central Sudan. a quick bio of st. josephine bakhita. For the first time in her life, Josephine was free and could choose what to do with her life. Mother Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan in 1869 and died in Schio (Vicenza) in 1947. Help all survivors find healing from their wounds. Author and Publisher - Catholic Online. Grateful to her teachers, she recalled, "Those holy mothers instructed me with heroic patience and introduced me to that God who from childhood I had felt in my heart without knowing who He was. She left Venice and arrived in Schio in 1902, after simply replying: Yes, Father, to the question concerning her transfer. Her body may have been devastated by cruelty, but not her soul, which was always aware of an innate dignity which only we can destroy in ourselves. Died: 1947 in Italy Someone asked her, "How are you? [2] She was one of the Daju people;[3][4] her respected and reasonably prosperous father was brother of the village chief. (ca. Saint Gabriel Francis Possenti's feast day is February 28. Her new owners took her to their family villa at Zianigo, near Mirano, Veneto, about 25km (16mi) west of Venice. This was the school of the Creator that she attended after the school of her family, which she always longed for. She rubbed the wounds with salt to make the scars permanent. She was declared free. They travelled a risky 650-kilometre (400mi) trip on camelback to Suakin, which was the largest port of Sudan. We serve youth, parents, and those on the frontlines of combatting human trafficking. Provide comfort to survivors of slavery and let them look to you as an example of hope As she grew older, she experienced long, painful years of sickness, but she continued to persevere in hope, constantly choosing the good. Despite the trauma that Bakhita endured, she was able to find direction and value in her life, which can serve as an example and a solace to all who suffer, especially those who have been exploited. For had she not been kidnapped, she might never have come to know Jesus Christ and entered His Church. She has her M.S. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. He gave her her first crucifix and had the idea of having her live with the little girl she took care of, at the Catechumens of Venice, a place where she could be educated and learn about the love of Jesus and the Gospel of salvation. If you are one of our rare donors, you have our gratitude and we warmly thank you. He had paid for her journey and had entrusted her to friends in Genoa, provided that they treated her well, thus guaranteeing her food, home and a job. On this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, as organizations, governments, and individuals all over the world pause to rededicate themselves to their anti-trafficking goals, it is important that we listen to the stories of survivors and let them guide us in our work. Born in the village of Olgossa (Darfur, Sudan) in 1869, Bakhita had a twin sister, she was loved and she lived peacefully. Her first owner, a wealthy Arab, gave her to his daughters as a maid. He canonized her on October 1, 2000. Amen. She was sold several times, and had eight masters, including the intermediaries, like the kidnappers, who sought the propitious opportunity to resell her for a greater profit. At the age of nine, she was kidnapped and sold into slavery, where a series of owners humiliated, tortured and mutilated her. Once, they hid behind a thorn hedge for two hours while a long caravan passed nearby. We do not know her exact birthdate, but we know that she was born in the village of Olgossa, which is near Darfur, Sudan. Permission Guidelines In the new house she found peace of heart and dignity of the body, finally dressed not in a straw tutu but in a white robe. If Catholic Online has given you $5.00 worth of knowledge this year, take a minute to donate. On 29 November 1889, at the Catechumens, something similar to a trial took place regarding her choice not to return to the life of slavery, and she was declared free. Printable Catholic Saints PDFs. Thank you. When Mimmina was old enough to be sent to a boarding school in Venice, Bakhita accompanied her. She was given to people she did not know, albeit with the promise of good treatment, but as she left Genoa her heart was in turmoil. She rubbed the wounds with salt to make the scars permanent. She was baptized on January 9, 1890 and took the name Josephine Margaret and Fortunata. She was known for her charisma and gentleness and even expressed gratitude that her past horrors had brought her to her current life. The greatest revelation of such love was forgiveness, which was expressed with gratitude in grasping Gods Providence in the traumas of the experience of being kidnapped as a child and the inhuman life that followed. Saint Alexander's feast day is February 26. Customer Service:cservice @franciscanmedia.org, Technical Questions:support @franciscanmedia.org, Writers GuidelinesPrivacy PolicyPost a Prayer RequestDonor Portal. The map of Sudan here shows the village of Olgossa (. In 2015, her feast day became the first international day for prayer and reflection on human trafficking. Over the course of twelve years (18771889) she was sold three more times and then she was finally given her freedom. In the slave markets, where she was put up for sale, she always hoped to recognize her sister who had been kidnapped two years before her. She was kidnapped at the age of seven and sold into slavery by. Her life was forever altered when she was kidnapped from her family as a young child and enslaved by Arab slave traders, likely in early 1877. Caritas Bakhita House in London, which provides accommodation and support for women escaping human trafficking, is named in her honour. The choices of love experienced by Bakhita first freed her, giving her the taste of comfort regarding her lost sisters, finding herself in a situation of unprecedented possibilities with regard to her loved ones. Bakhita was drawn to the Catholic Church. After that, she was sold. and faith. Sharing the Word for May 1, 2023 Fourth Week of Easter Year 1. Later in life, she devoted herself to promoting Catholic missions to Africa. It was there that Bakhita first heard the gospel and believed that it was Gods will that she be free. Augusto Michieli acquired a large hotel there and decided to sell his property in Italy and to move his family to Sudan permanently. St. Josephine BakhitaA Model of Faith. Our universal sister was given back to us. Bakhita wanted to become a Christian, to receive baptism. Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. But just nine months later, Pope John Paul II visited Sudan and honored her publicly. After only nine months, Bakhita unexpectedly left Africa with Mimmina who did not want to leave her behind. Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan . We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. She seems to be always ready, on the right hand of her Master, ready to become his spokesperson to help us and support us in the trials of life. Her new family also had dealings in Sudan had when her mistress decided to travel to Sudan without Josephine, she placed her in the custody of the Canossian Sisters in Venice. Intercede with God on their behalf 1869 8 February 1947) was a Sudanese-Italian Canossian religious sister who lived in Italy for 45 years, after having been a slave in Sudan. Flogging and maltreatment were part of her daily life. I had then the confused feeling that, since she was an extraordinary soul, my writing would sooner or later be useful, thinking that in time the Church would take this story and this extraordinary soul into account (cf. She chose to remain with the Canossian Sisters. For 10 years, this inheritance has been taken up by the Bakhita Committee which has now become an Association in order to continue the caring work that today Bakhita would have liked to carry out for her own people. A young student once asked Bakhita: "What would you do, if you were to meet your captors?" She then died. Her trauma was so great that she forgot her birth name and her kidnappers gave her the name Bakhita which means fortunate. Although she was just a child, she was forced to walk barefoot over 600 miles to a slave market in El Obeid. For three days, her body lay in repose while thousands of people arrived to pay their respects. It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. Author and Publisher - Catholic Online She then died. Even while she was outwardly denied freedom and human dignity, her spirit was free. Her first owner, a wealthy Arab, gave her to his daughters as a maid. Read his story here. When she was on door duty, she would gently lay her hands on the heads of the children who attended the nearby school and caress them. At her canonization ceremony on October 1, 2000, Pope John Paul II said of St. Josephine: In todays world, countless women continue to be victimized, even in developed modern societies. For the next 42 years of her life, she worked as a cook and a doorkeeper at the convent. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law. Her new family also had dealings in Sudan had when her mistress decided to travel to Sudan without Josephine, she placed her in the custody of the Canossian Sisters in Venice. Various testimonies have depicted her freely giving thanks, in order to free every creature, to educate to self-giving until death. What is it that enslaves you? Born in Darfur in 1869, Josephine Bakhita was taken by Arab slave traders when she was 9. She was kidnapped by slave traders at the age of seven; they gave her the name Bakhita, which means "lucky." She died in 1947 in Italy. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. During the war, because of her colour, she was also mistaken for being a spy, but she did not get upset, she accompanied those who wanted to arrest her to where she lived and, showing them the window in her room, explained that since her arrival in Italy she had received the gift of vocation. By the end of 1888, Turina Michieli wanted to see her husband in Sudan even though land transactions were unfinished. This is the awareness of those who recognize in her a prophecy for these times of migration flows towards Italy, a land considered by many as the doorway to Europe. The little girl had never worn a dress until the day two scowling men appeared in the fields, blocking her path and holding a knife to her side, kidnapping her much as one might snatch a hen from its coop. On February 8, the Church commemorates the life of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Canossian Sister who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Sudan. When she had made her patterns; the woman took the razor and made incisions along the lines. He rejoiced at seeing her again. When the child was about seven months old, Bakhita accompanied her to Suakin in Africa, where, in the hotel bought by the Michieli family, she experienced the awful conditions she would have fallen back into, had she stayed there.

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