Saint Josephine Bakhita

Bakhita was born around 1869 in the Darfur region of Sudan. As a young girl she was kidnapped by slave traders, and the trauma was so great that she forgot her own name; her captors called her Bakhita, 'the lucky one.' She was sold several times and suffered terrible cruelty, including scarring.

In 1883 she was bought by an Italian consul who took her to Italy, where she cared for the daughter of the Michieli family. While staying with the Canossian Sisters in Venice she came to know Christ, and in 1889 an Italian court declared her free. She was baptized in 1890 with the name Josephine and joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity in 1896. For over forty years in Schio she served as cook, sacristan and doorkeeper, loved for her gentleness. She died on February 8, 1947, and was canonized by Saint John Paul II in 2000.

Since 2015 the Church observes February 8 as the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking, placing it under her protection.

In Schio, Italy, pilgrims visit her tomb, and in Sudan and South Sudan her feast is a day of great joy. Pope Benedict XVI made her a model of hope in his encyclical Spe Salvi.