St. Josephine Bakhita

Josephine Bakhita was born in 1869 in Sudan. When she was seven years old she was kidnapped by slave traders and sold several times on the slave market. The name Bakhita, which means “fortunate,” was given to her by her kidnappers. During her time as a slave the young girl was physically and emotionally abused. Finally she was sold to an Italian consul, Callisto Legnani. Now she was treated with warmth and concern, although she remained a servant. When the consul was forced by the political situation to leave Sudan, Bakhita asked to go with him. Once in Italy, Bakhita went to live with friends of Legnani, the Michieli’s and became the babysitter of their newborn baby, Mimmina. When Mimmina was sent to school with the Canossian Sisters of the Institute of Catechumens in Venice, Bakhita went with her. Here Bakhita learned the faith. She told the Sisters that from childhood she had realized that God must exist because of the beauty of nature, and she had longed to know Him. She was baptized on January 9, 1890 taking the name Josephine. Josephine had found a home; she refused to return to the Michieli’s home. The Canossian Sisters and the Patriarch of Venice upheld her rights in court and the judge ruled that Josephine had been free since coming to Italy because slavery was illegal there. Josephine became a Canossian sister, taking her final vows on December 8, 1896. For the next fifty years she worked as part of the Schio community of sisters, cooking, embroidering, cleaning, and answering the door. She affectionately greeted the school children who came to be taught by the sisters and the poor who came seeking assistance. She became well-known and well-loved by the community the sisters served. Sister Josephine always encouraged people to love God and to pray for those who did not know Him. She cheerfully endured long years of illness in her old age. During her final agony, she experienced flashbacks of being still in slavery and asked her nurse to “loosen the chains.” Her sisters in religion gathered around her deathbed and heard her joyfully greet Our Lady, before she took her last breath on February 8,1947. The neighboring community quickly came to pay their respects and many miracles were reported due to her intercession. St. Josephine Bakhita was canonized in 2000.