WOMAN OF STRENGTH St. Josephine Bakhita
Jesus removed the chains that bound her By Elizabeth Morales South Texas Catholic
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MAP OF THE MIDDLE EAST | ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA AND ST. JOSEPHINE BAKHITA | AMORMEUS.ORG
t. Josephine Bakhita, the patron saint of human trafficking victims, was a woman of courage and strength. Her development and transformation as a person reveal how excruciatingly painful and heart-wrenching life can be, but with Christ, there is hope and goodness. She was born in 1869 to a noble family in a small village in the Dafur region of Sudan. Bakhita recalled having a happy childhood. At the tender age of seven, she was kidnapped and sold into slavery by Arab slave traders, who named her Bakhita, which means “fortunate” in Arabic. Ironically, this new name didn’t describe the torture she would be subjected to by multiple owners, but it does foretell her redemption through Christ. She was traded, bought, sold, and given as a gift to multiple families. She was tortured both physically and mentally at the hands of different owners. One Turkish family, in particular, treated Bakhita very harshly. She would be lashed, and then salt would be placed into the wounds to ensure they scarred. After one wound would heal, another would be inflicted. In Africa 1883, Bakhita was sold to Italian Vice Consul Callisto Legnani, who would take her back to his residence in Italy. Consul Legnani treated her with more dignity and respect than prior owners, and he eventually gave Bakhita away to family friends. Augusto Michieli and his family placed Bakhita as their daughter’s nanny. One day Augusto Michieli and his wife traveled away for business, leaving Bakhita and their daughter with the Canossian Sisters in Venice. When Mrs. Michieli returned to the convent to bring her daughter and
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Bakhita home, Bakhita requested to remain with the sisters. Throughout her life, Bakhita wondered who made the stars, sun, and moon. She desired to learn more about God. It was at this convent that Bakhita learned about the one who made the stars, sun, and moon, the
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