Day 157 -- Saint Josephine Bakhita

"Mary protected me even before I knew her!"

I first heard about Saint Josephine Bakhita when I read Pope Benedict's encyclical Spe Salvi (Saved in Hope) and Msgr. Chris mentioned her in his homily recently.

Saint Josephine Bakhita was born to a wealthy Sudanese family, in Darfur, in 1868, but then she was kidnapped by slave-traders at 9 years old and given the name Bakhita (lucky) by them. She was sold and resold in the markets. Then she was finally puchased in 1883 by Callisto Legani, and Italian consul who planned to free her. She went to Italy in 1885 and worked as a nanny and was treated very well and grew to love Italy. She joined the Catholic Church on January 9, 1890 and to symbolize her new life she took the name of Josephine.

She entered the Institute of Canossian Daughters of Charity in Italy in 1893 and took her vows on December 8, 1896 in Verona, Italy. She served as a Canossian Sister for the next 50 years. She had a gentle presence and a warm voice which brought comfort to the poor and suffering who came to the door of the Institute. A biography of her was written in 1930 and many people wanted her to perform at speaking engagements, which raised funds to support missions. She died on February 8, 1947 of natural causes in Italy. She was canonized on October 1, 2000 in Rome by Pope John Paul II: "Rejoice, all of Africa! Bakhita has come back to you: the daughter of the Sudan, sold into slavery as a living piece of merchandise, and yet still free: free with the freedom of the saints." She is the only saint originally from Sudan. She is the patron saint of her native country. She is such an example of love and trust in the Lord.

PRAYER

O Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we thank you for the gifts of humility and charity which you bestowed on Saint Josephine Bakhita Deign to glorify her for her singular virtues and grant the prayers of those who invoke her. Amen.

I thought these were great quotes from Saint Josephine Bakhita:

If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today.

The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone… we must be compassionate!

I can truly say that it was a miracle I did not die, because the Lord has destined me for greater things.