But just nine months later, Pope John Paul II visited Sudan and honored her publicly. She had brothers, sisters, and loving parents. Despite the terrible things she had endured, Bakhita dedicated the rest of her life to serving God, her fellow sisters, and mankind; she was a much beloved, respected member of her community. 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. It was there that Bakhita first heard the gospel and believed that it was Gods will that she be free. She was bought and sold at least twice during the grueling journey. [2] She was one of the Daju people;[3][4] her respected and reasonably prosperous father was brother of the village chief. Two years later, he took Josephine to Italy and gave her to his friend Augusto Michieli. It seemed that Bakhita had failed in her quest for freedom. This year, the liturgical feast of Saint Bakhita invited us to rediscover ourselves invited by life to the school of love, and of humanity. Josephine Margaret Bakhita, F.D.C.C. Oh St. Bakhita, assist all those who are trapped in a Her mistress spent three days trying to persuade her to leave the sisters, but Josephine remained steadfast. I am dark but beautiful: this is her song of love, the gift of her closeness to those who seek her as a humble sister freed from the love that God has planted in our hearts. Large crowds followed her hearse to the cemetery. [11] She lived there for three years and became nanny to the Michieli's daughter Alice, known as 'Mimmina', born in February 1886. [20] A strong missionary drive animated her throughout her entire life "her mind was always on God, and her heart in Africa".[21]. Bakhita sought humanity and discovered that she longed for a good master, like the One who cares for all beautiful things: the sky, the stars, the earth, flowers. Josephine Bakhita, you were sold into slavery as a child Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Slavery was illegal in Italy, so Bakhita was able to leave her Italian owners and follow Gods calling for her. For the next 42 years of her life, she worked as a cook and a doorkeeper at the convent. Through baptism she discovered that what makes us free is Gods breath in us and with this freedom she wanted to free everyone: with understanding, advice, gently, always giving thanks, saying: See you in Heaven!. When Mrs. Michieli returned to fetch her daughter and the enslaved nanny, Josephine resolutely refused to leave the institute. Author and Publisher - Catholic Online She lay in state for three days, and mourners noticed that her limbs remained flexible. As she grew older, she experienced long, painful years of sickness, but she continued to persevere in hope, constantly choosing the good. She was beatified on 17 May 1992 and canonized on 1 October 2000. Birth: 1869. The map of Sudan here shows the village of Olgossa (. Each ofATIs initiatives equips you in the fight against human traffickingby providing focused resources developed by survivors as well as experts with firsthand experience. She was gentle and charismatic, and was often referred to lovingly as the "little brown sister" or honorably as the "black mother.". She also received the sacraments of her first holy communion and confirmation on the same day. Her new owners, needing to do business in Sudan, temporarily placed her and their daughter in the custody of the Canossian Sisters at the Institute of the Catechumens in Venice in 1888. During World War II, the people of the village of Schio regarded her as their protector. She had brothers, sisters, and loving parents. 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. Her first owner, a wealthy Arab, gave her to his daughters as a maid. Of that traumatic mutilation she reportedly said, I thought I would die, especially when salt was poured in the woundsit was by a miracle of God I didnt die. / Holy See Press Office. Bakhita underwent the excruciating ordeal of tattooing. For the rest of her life, Bakhita remained in Italy and lived as a free woman. Bakhita was baptized in January 1890 and took the name Josephine. The most recent one known to us is the Casa Santa Giuseppina Bakhita"(Saint Josephine Bakhita House), dedicated as a temporary reception centre for women, located on the island of SantElena, in Venice. Her story is noteworthy. Bakhita converted to Christianity and was baptized and confirmed in 1890. Printable Catholic Saints PDFs. She was bought and sold at least twice during the grueling journey. After the years of trauma that she endured, she did not remember the name her parents had given her and went by Bakhita from then on. Saint Bakhita lived long ago. Born in a village in Sudan, kidnapped by slavers, often beaten and abused, and later sold to Federico Marin, a Venetian merchant, Bakhita then came to Italy and became the nanny servant of Federico's daughter, Aurora, who had lost her mother at birth. Slaves also served to vent the anger of their masters who found sadistic pleasure in hearing them cry out in pain. She was born around 1869 in Darfur (now in western Sudan) in the village of Olgossa, west of Nyala and close to Mount Agilerei. Surrounded by the sisters, she died at age 78. On 17 May, 1992, she was proclaimed blessed, and on 1 October of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 she was made a saint by John Paul II. Bakhita has come back to you. She is the patron saint of Sudan and of victims of human trafficking. For had she not been kidnapped, she might never have come to know Jesus Christ and entered His Church. Image credit: Saint Josephine Bakhita by unknown artist, unknown date. Over the next decade of enslavement, Josephine was passed from owner to owner, bought and sold so many times that she forgot her birth name. She was given away to another family as a gift and she served them as a nanny. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. Canonized: October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II. She also cared for war victims during world war 1. 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. He eventually took her to Italy and gave her to the Michieli family to serve as a nanny. She was seven years old when her good heart experienced the pain of seeing her companions unjustly suffer as slaves. For three days, Michieli tried to force the issue, finally appealing to the attorney general of the King of Italy; while the superior of the Institute for baptismal candidates (catechumenate) that Bakhita attended contacted the Patriarch of Venice about her protege's problem. Ida Zanolini, in Positio, p. 113 233). She has been adopted as the patron saint of modern Sudan and human trafficking survivors. This ironic new name did not describe the brutal and humiliating treatment Bakhita received on a daily basis. [25], Bakhita's legacy is that transformation is possible through suffering. Although she was just a child, she was forced to walk barefoot over 600 miles to a slave market in El Obeid. She rubbed the wounds with salt to make the scars permanent. Melissa Petruzzello is Associate Editor of Plant and Environmental Science and covers a range of content from plants, algae, and fungi, to renewable energy and environmental engineering. Six years later she entered the Canossian Sisters convent in Schio, Italy. On the evening of February 8, 1947, Josephine spoke her last words, "Our Lady, Our Lady!" *Director of the archives of the Shrine of Saint Josephme Bakhita in Schio, LOsservatore Romano14 February 2020, page 8, EWTN | 5817 Old Leeds Rd. Saint Bakhita still continues to intercede, to operate, to help, to solve the insoluble problems of those who turn to her and those who do not yet know her. This project was carried out in collaboration between the municipality and the diocesan Caritas. Read his story here. When visited and asked how she was, shed respond: "As the Master desires.". On February 8, the Church commemorates the life of St. Josephine Bakhita, a Canossian Sister who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Sudan. In St. Josephine Bakhita we find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation. She is the only saint originally from Sudan and she is now the patron saint of Sudan. Her last years were marked by pain and sickness. In Venice, her story of ransom from slavery, the gift of her faith was well known. 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. She felt that she was always walking in the light, guided by the One she did not know, but who she knew was present in the circumstances that brought her to Italy, allowing her to know and love Jesus who for us who are His children was crucified, and she was joyful to belong to him as his bride. Something maybe not as well-known about St. Josephine Bakhita is that her body was scarred all over. Her owners named her Bakhita, Arabic for lucky or fortunate. In total, she bore 144 physical scars for the rest of her life. Augusto Michieli acquired a large hotel there and decided to sell his property in Italy and to move his family to Sudan permanently. But the girls had no idea where they were going. 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. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. It wasnt long before Bakhita realized they were lost. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a24650c9343008eb8a6585a97221ebfb" );document.getElementById("c8429a34be").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. St. Josephine BakhitaA Model of Faith. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering. We do not know her exact birthdate, but we know that she was born in the village of Olgossa, which is near Darfur, Sudan. Thus, from 13 to 16 years old she experienced a Christian welcome and civil respect. She was sold not just once, but multiple times. All rights reserved. Suakin on the Red Sea was besieged but remained in Anglo-Egyptian hands. [19] On 9 January 1890, Bakhita was baptized with the names of 'Josephine Margaret' and 'Fortunata' (the Latin translation of the Arabic Bakhita). She told about how the general's wife ordered her to be scarred. She chose to remain with the Canossian Sisters. Italian saint and former slave (18691947), Dagnino, p.10. Bakhita was drawn to the Catholic Church. She had freely chosen to belong to God, by whom she felt loved, and accepted once again the separation from those she loved. Saint Josephine Bakhita is an African saint, who was born in Sudan around 1869, and died on 8 February 1947, in Italy. Reception centres, training courses or places named after Saint Bakhita are being built throughout various parts of Italy. We are a team of people dedicated to defeating the scourge of human trafficking through uniquely targeted programs. Most people donate because Catholic Online is useful. One of her owners was a Turkish general who gave her to his wife and mother-in-law who both beat her daily. What Do All Saints Day and Halloween Have in Common? Read her story here. While she was in the custody of the sisters, she came to learn about God. Josephine Bakhita entered the convent in 1893 and took her vows December 8, 1896. Mother Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan in 1869 and died in Schio (Vicenza) in 1947. He had destined me for better things." Bakhita became a nanny for her new family, and she and her young charge lived at the convent run by the Canossian Sisters in Venice. For the next 12 years she would be bought, sold and given away over a dozen times. She was of the Daju people; her respected and reasonably prosperous father was a brother of the village chief. 6 Facts About St Josephine Bakhita 1) Sudanese-Italian Canossian nun who survived 12 years of brutal slavery. Bulk Subscription, About In the extremity of her last hours, her mind was driven back to her youth in slavery and she cried out: "The chains are too tight, loosen them a little, please!" Forced to walk 600 miles to southern Sudan, she was bought and sold before arriving in El Obeid. Saint Magdalene of Canossa referred to Venice as a city of projects; also from Venice came Gods dream for Mother Bakhita, who arrived at the Canossian Institute. February 8, 2023. At the age of 13 she was sold to a Turkish general and every day his mistresses punished her with whips and beatings. She felt that she had always known God as the creator of all things and was deeply moved by the story of Jesus and by the answers she received from the sisters. Indeed, realizing that she could not return home, little Bakhita, lifted up her innocent face and saw God. She was beatified on May 17, 1992, by Pope John Paul II and canonized by him on October 1, 2000. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. 2023 Loyola Press. To all our readers, Please don't scroll past this. Does the Bible Have Anything to do with My Life? She was forced to walk barefoot about 960 kilometres (600mi) to El-Obeid and was sold and bought twice before she arrived there. 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. Her simplicity was convincing and danger was averted. Amen. Also known as: Josephine Margaret Bakhita, Mother Josephine Bakhita. Bakhita herself never mentions this incident. She is a shining ray of hope for human trafficking victims and an inspirational demonstration of how a victim can recover from their trauma and become whole again. The next fifty years of her life were marked by simplicity, witnessing to Gods love through cooking, sewing, embroidery and attending to the door. When her mistress returned from Sudan, Josephine refused to leave. She was five years old when her older sister was kidnapped and when Bakhita was about seven years old, she experienced the same tragedy herself. Later in life, she devoted herself to promoting Catholic missions to Africa. The six Eucharistic celebrations of the Solemnity of Saint Bakhita in Schio, also recalled the sacrifices made for the cause by Don Antonio Doppio and Don Giacomo Bravo, who died in Sudan, the native land of Saint Bakhita, where they had gone to start solidarity projects. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering. If anyone asked her how she was, she would reply, "As the master desires.". Bakhita became babysitter to Mimmina Michieli, whom she accompanied to Venices Institute of the Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters. Her constant smile, humility and simplicity won peoples hearts. She even received a new name at her baptism: Josephine Margaret Bakhita. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited. She was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery, eventually working in Italy as a nanny for a wealthy family. After a long and dangerous journey across Sudan, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean, they arrived in Italy. Show the volunteers who bring you reliable, Catholic information that their work matters. The assignment was easy until she offended her owner's son, possibly for the crime of breaking a vase. Renew your gift subscription At the end of 1884 they escaped from a besieged Khartoum with a friend, Augusto Michieli. Who are the immigrants in your local community? If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. She was surrounded by a loving family of three brothers and three sisters; as she says in her autobiography: "I lived a very happy and carefree life, without knowing what suffering was".[5]. 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. In 2000, she was declared a saint, the first Black woman to receive the honor in the modern era. In 1883 she was sold to an Italian consul in Khartoum, Callisto Legnani, who treated her more humanely. Saint Angela of Foligno's feast day is February 28. What happened to the Catholic Knights Hospitaller? In 1883, the Turkish general sold her to the Italian Vice Consul, Callisto Legani. She is a shining ray of hope for human trafficking victims and an inspirational demonstration of how a victim can recover from their trauma and become whole again. Pope Francis visits with children in Budapest with visual impairments. Required fields are marked *. Her gentleness, calming voice, and the ever-present smile became well known and Vicenzans still refer to her as Sor Moretta ("little brown sister") or Madre Moretta ("black mother"). We partner with people like you. Her owners named her Bakhita, Arabic for lucky or fortunate. and faith. Pay Your Bill, SUBSCRIBE TO OSV KIDS The case went to court, and the court found that slavery had been outlawed in Sudan before Josephine was born, so she could not be lawfully made slave. They brought her back to Italy to work as a maid and care giver to their baby, Mimmina. He rejoiced at seeing her again. How can you, your family, or an organization you belong to reach out in solidarity. Mothers lifted her hands and placed them on the heads of their children, praying for her blessing. Everyone assured us that they had met her. In 1883, Bakhita was sold to an Italian family who treated her with kindness and respect. Her black skin revealed different ancestry and a different life experience. He canonized her on October 1, 2000. In Pope Francis Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, we grasped the indications of a path, that is, of a school of humanity, defined in the words of Romano Guardini, who calls human fullness the possibility to live humanly, equally shared with all those who are in the same place (cf. Yes, she is a Catholic saint, but her story can serve as an inspiration to all, no matter what their religious beliefs may be. Her voice was pleasing to the little ones, comforting to the poor and suffering. Bakhita died at 8:10 PM on 8 February 1947. She became a Canossian nun in December 1896 and remained at the convent for another 42 years. She was baptized on January 9, 1890 and took the name Josephine Margaret and Fortunata. When she had made her patterns; the woman took the razor and made incisions along the lines. She was tattooed with 114 deep cuts, which were filled with salt so that the design formed by the lip ofher scars remained; marks which remained white and stood out on her very black skin; the children, towhom she told her story, who are now elderly, still remember them. We ask for your prayers and intercessions for those enslaved among us. Learn more about Saint Josephine Bakhita! If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Spend some time reflecting on areas of your life where you are not free. [3][22] During the Second World War (19391945) she shared the fears and hopes of the townspeople, who considered her a saint and felt protected by her presence. She was born around the year 1869 in the African country of Sudan, in the region of Darfur, in the city of Olgossa.
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