St Josephine Bakhita

St Josephine Bakhita was born in the Sudan in 1869. Josephine Bakhita was not the name which her parents gave her, however since she was kidnapped as a child, she later forgot the name of her parents and the names they had give her. She was first bought by a Turkish general at a slave market in whose service she was subjected to all manner of ill-treatment and torture, including being branded with some sixty “tattoos” or incisions across her stomach to indicate she was a possession of the general.

Her fortunes began where she was sold by the Turkish General to an Italian Consul. The Consul was kind and Josephine was treated well. When his daughter was born Bakhita became her babysitter. The acquisition of a large hotel in Suakin on the Red sea forced the consul and his wife to move to Suakin, and Bakhita and Mimmina (the Consul’s daughter) were temporarily under the Canossian Sisters of the Institute of the Catechumens in Venice. It was there that Bakhita came to know about the Catholic faith.

After several months, Bakhita received the sacraments of Christian initiation and was given the new name, Josephine. When the Consul’s wife returned to take Bakhita and Mimmina to Suakin, Bakhita requested permission to remain with the Canossian Sisters. The permission was granted and on the 8th December 1896 Josephine Bakhita was consecrated as a sister of the Institute of St Magdalene of Canossa.

For the next 50 years Josephine Bakhita lived in the Schio community, involved in various services: cooking, sewing, embroidery and attending the door.

When she was on duty at the door, she would gently lay her hands on the heads of the children who daily attended the Canossian schools and caress them. Her amiable voice, which had the inflection and rhythm of the music of her country, was pleasing to the children, comforting to the poor and suffering and encouraging to those who knocked at the Institute’s door.

Her humility, simplicity and constant smile won the hearts of all the citizens. Her sisters in the community esteemed her for her constantly sweet nature, exquisite goodness and deep desire to make the Lord known.

As she grew older, she experienced long, painful years of sickness. During her agony, she relived the terrible days of her slavery and more than once begged the nurse who assisted her: “please, loosen the chains…”

Her last words were: “Our Lady! Our Lady!” and her final smile testified to her encounter with the Lord’s mother. After she died on 8 February 1947 a crowd gathered at the convent to have one last look at her, and since then her fame for sanctity has spread to all the continents and many received graces through her intercession.