interesting facts about saint josephine bakhita

Then salt was poured into the open wounds to ensure it would scar. Where would she be taken? Zanini, Roberto Italo (2013). A total of 114 intricate patterns were cut into her breasts, belly and into her right arm.[13][14]. Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Her historical experience suggests anthropological and spiritual reflections that amazingly manifest the divine imprint of the Creator in a good heart which the harshness of slavery, torture and tireless work have revealed almost as a precious metal purified by fire. They travelled a risky 650-kilometre (400mi) trip on camelback to Suakin, which was the largest port of Sudan. Would she be treated like a slave again or could she still hope to have the human dignity she had experienced in the consuls home? Which services in your area address the needs of women and children in poverty? Sadly, the news of her beatification in 1992 was censored in Sudan. Indeed, realizing that she could not return home, little Bakhita, lifted up her innocent face and saw God. In 2015, her feast day became the first international day for prayer and reflection on human trafficking. As she said: If I were to meet those who kidnapped me, or even those who tortured me, I would kneel down and kiss their hands. She then remained in the catechumenate for four more years. Bilinge: Encontrando a Dios / Finding God, Encontrando a Dios / Finding God (Espaol), Encontrando a Dios / Finding God (English), Catequistas Y Maestros / Catechists & Teachers, En El Orden Restaurado: Descripcion Del Programa, Nuestra Seora De GuadalupeOur Lady of Guadalupe. ATIs tools are designed to ensure that your efforts deliver effective results. For her arrival in Italy, there had been no need for a passport. The consul was her guarantee. Her body lay on display for three days afterwards. Now she looked to the sky for guidance once morebut this time, to her surprise, she saw a beautiful figure, bathed in light and smiling at her. This project was carried out in collaboration between the municipality and the diocesan Caritas. 42743. Bakhita wished to stay in Italy when her owners readied for a relocation. While she was in the custody of the sisters, she came to learn about God. Saints for kids, Two Suitcases: The Story of St. Josephine Bakhita. The colour of her skin had either frightened or attracted the little ones, who thought she was made of chocolate, and intrigued the grown-ups, who had never seen people of other ethnic groups; but that very colour became the privilege given them to have known and loved someone who was different, and to receive love in return. She was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery, eventually working in Italy as a nanny for a wealthy family. In her later years, she began to suffer physical pain and was forced to use a wheelchair. He had destined me for better things.. On that 8 February 1947, young and old still sought her for a greeting, to touch her hand, still soft and warm, and to receive a last caress from her: they wanted to hold her forever. In 1883 she was sold to an Italian consul in Khartoum, Callisto Legnani, who treated her more humanely. She was bought and sold at least twice during the grueling journey. Saint Bakhita lived long ago. In 1883, the Turkish general sold her to the Italian Vice Consul, Callisto Legani. She told about how the general's wife ordered her to be scarred. Her Baptism set her on an eventual path toward asserting her civic freedom and then service to Gods people as a Canossian Sister. The assignment was easy until she offended her owner's son, possibly for the crime of breaking a vase. 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. Bakhita, the first canonized Sudanese saint, led the way for those who today seek among us hope for their life. Permission Guidelines She was kidnapped at the age of seven and sold into slavery by. All rights reserved. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. In 2000, she was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. The Patriarch of Venice was informed, and he sought the advice of the Kings attorney. . 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. Renew your gift subscription Before long, they were planning an escape. She then died. [16] Two years later, when Legnani himself had to return to Italy, Bakhita begged to go with him. How might God be calling you to greater freedom in this area? The Canossian Sisters went to court on her behalf and helped her obtain her freedom. She was born in Sudan, Africa to a loving, and prosperous family. And the shining figure in the night? For had she not been kidnapped, she might never have come to know Jesus Christ and entered His Church. One of her owners was a Turkish general who gave her to his wife and mother-in-law who both beat her daily. Her memories remind us that what bonds us is the same need for love, well beyond our individual beliefs. Each ofATIs initiatives equips you in the fight against human traffickingby providing focused resources developed by survivors as well as experts with firsthand experience. As she grew older, she experienced long, painful years of sickness, but she continued to persevere in hope, constantly choosing the good. Daily Prayer. 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"). But she always remained cheerful. Her owners named her Bakhita, Arabic for lucky or fortunate. Large crowds followed her hearse to the cemetery. Their chance came one day when the overseer carelessly left them unchained and alone. 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. The Canossian Sisters went to court on her behalf and helped her obtain her freedom. Author and Publisher - Catholic Online Her remains were translated to the Church of the Holy Family of the Canossian convent of Schio in 1969. As her mistress watched, ready with a whip, another woman drew patterns on her skin with flour, then cut into her flesh with a blade. He gave her her first crucifix and had the idea of having her live with the little girl she took care of, at the Catechumens of Venice, a place where she could be educated and learn about the love of Jesus and the Gospel of salvation. During her 42 years in Schio, Bakhita was employed as the cook, sacristan, and portress (doorkeeper) and was in frequent contact with the local community. Over the course of twelve years (18771889) she was sold three more times and then she was finally given her freedom. Once liberated from your physical enslavement, To all our readers, Please don't scroll past this. a quick bio of st. josephine bakhita. In the new house she found peace of heart and dignity of the body, finally dressed not in a straw tutu but in a white robe. They brought her back to Italy to work as a maid and care giver to their baby, Mimmina. 2023 Loyola Press. In her later years, she began to suffer physical pain and was forced to use a wheelchair. ADVENTURES: Many weeks after being kidnapped, Bakhita found herself at a slave market, chained to another girl her age. In St. Josephine Bakhita we find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation. We partner with people like you. The choice of her freedom implied a priority of affection, which made her decide not to lose what remains forever; hers was the wisdom of the small and pure of heart who see God. Her life was forever altered when she was kidnapped from her family as a young child and enslaved by Arab slave traders, likely in early 1877. Josephine Bakhita was born in 1869, in a small. 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!. Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. In 1958, the process of canonization began for Josephine under Pope John XXIII. The sisters she lived with experienced the humanizing power of motherhood in her friendship. It is the process of life that discovers happiness in being free in order to free humanity (n. 9-10, n. 114, n. 188, n. 213, n. 224); we are called to live a happy friendship as a fullness of humanity (n. 8, n. 27, n. 91-92, n. 200) and to communicate it with the humanizing power of tenderness (n. 88, n. 270- 272, n. 274, n. 284). -Her friendly voice -The way that she thought about death Evangelii Gaudium, n. 224). 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. As punishment for clumsiness, she was beaten so severely that she was incapacitated for a month and was sold again when she recovered. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering. Bakhita converted to Christianity and was baptized and confirmed in 1890. 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. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law. Children and adults alike flocked to her, enjoying her good heart, good nature, good works, and her love of people. By the end of 1888, Turina Michieli wanted to see her husband in Sudan even though land transactions were unfinished. She was gentle and charismatic, and was often referred to lovingly as the "little brown sister" or honorably as the "black mother.". Josephine Margaret Bakhita, F.D.C.C. Saint John Cassian's feast day is February 29. Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! This decentralization from herself manifested a creative generosity; for this was already the beginning of a path of redemption that rooted altruism in her. Josephine Bakhita was made a saint on by October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul ll. She was known for her charisma and gentleness and even expressed gratitude that her past horrors had brought her to her current life. Learn more about the people of Sudan and the ongoing conflict in their country. Josephine Bakhita (c. 1869 - 8 February 1947) was a Sudanese-born former slave who became a Roman Catholic Canossian nun in Italy, living and working there for 45 years. 3) Her feast day marks an international day of prayer and awareness against human trafficking. Historians believe that sometime in February 1877, Josephine was kidnapped by Arab slave traders. One of her owners was a Turkish general who gave her to his wife and mother-in-law who both beat her daily. (ca. I thought I would die, especially when salt was poured in the wounds it was by a miracle of God I didn't die. A bronze sculpture of Saint Josephine Bakhita, patron of trafficking victims, will be installed in the Vatican. 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. Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan . | Irondale, AL 35210 |. -. The first steps toward her beatification began in 1959. She also traveled and visited other convents telling her story to other sisters and preparing them for work in Africa. Tarjeta De Oracin De Nuestra Seora De Guadalupe, Tres Maneras Para Obtener Un Mejor Provecho De La Misa. 'Bakhita' was not the name she received from her parents at birth. Read his story here. At some point during her captivity she was given the name Bakhita, which is Arabic for fortunate., One of her early captors forced her to serve as a maid. Born in Olgossa in the Darfur region of southern Sudan, Josephine was kidnapped at the age of 7, sold into slavery and given the name Bakhita, which meansfortunate. For many years, Josephine Bakhita was a slave but her spirit was always free and eventually that spirit prevailed. Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. She also received the sacraments of her first holy communion and confirmation on the same day. Sharing the Word for May 1, 2023 Fourth Week of Easter Year 1. For three days, her body lay in repose while thousands of people arrived to pay their respects.
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