St. Josephine Bakhita (c. 1869–1947) was kidnapped as a child in Sudan, sold into slavery several times and cruelly beaten, then brought to Italy, where she discovered Christ, won her freedom and became a Canossian sister. She forgave the men who had enslaved her and spent fifty years in quiet service, known for her gentleness and joy. She is the patron saint of Sudan and of victims of human trafficking, and her feast, February 8, is the Church’s International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking. In 2027 it falls on a Monday.
Who was St. Josephine Bakhita?
- A stolen childhood. She was born around 1869 in the Darfur region of Sudan. At about seven or eight she was kidnapped by slave traders. The trauma made her forget her own name; her captors called her Bakhita, Arabic for “fortunate.”
- Sold again and again. Over the next years she was bought and sold several times in the markets of El Obeid and Khartoum. One owner had her scarred with a razor and salt, leaving more than a hundred wounds on her body.
- To Italy. In 1883 an Italian consul in Khartoum, Callisto Legnani, bought her and treated her kindly. When he returned to Italy she went with him, and was given to the Michieli family as nanny to their little daughter.
- Discovering God. When the Michielis traveled, Bakhita and the child stayed with the Canossian Sisters in Venice. There she learned of the God she said she had sensed in her heart since childhood.
- Freedom. When Signora Michieli came to take her back, Bakhita refused to leave. In 1889 an Italian court ruled that, since slavery was not recognized in Italy, she had always been free.
- Baptism. On January 9, 1890, she was baptized, confirmed and received her First Communion, taking the name Josephine Margaret Fortunata.
- Canossian sister. She entered the Canossian Daughters of Charity and made her vows in 1896. For most of the next fifty years she lived at their convent in Schio, near Vicenza, as cook, seamstress, sacristan and portress. The townspeople called her their “Black Mother” (Madre Moretta).
- Death. After a long illness she died at Schio on February 8, 1947.
Saint and patron
Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1992 and canonized her on October 1, 2000. Pope Benedict XVI told her story at the beginning of his encyclical on hope, Spe Salvi (2007), as an example of someone who, after knowing only masters who beat her, came to know “a totally different kind of master,” the God who loved her. In 2015 Pope Francis made her feast an International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking.
She is the patron saint of Sudan and of victims of human trafficking and modern slavery, and is invoked by survivors of abuse and by all who need to forgive.
A prayer to St. Josephine Bakhita
Written for this page:
St. Josephine Bakhita, you were stolen from your family, sold and beaten,
yet you found the God who had loved you from the beginning
and you forgave those who hurt you.
Pray for all who are enslaved, trafficked and exploited today:
may they be set free, healed and loved.
Pray for survivors of abuse, that they may find peace and hope,
and make us brave in defending human dignity.
St. Bakhita, pray for us. Amen.
A prayer for victims of human trafficking
Written for this page:
God of freedom, you hear the cry of the oppressed.
Break the chains of every person held in forced labor, sexual exploitation or debt bondage.
Give courage to those who rescue them, wisdom to those who make our laws,
and conversion to those who profit from the suffering of others.
Help us to buy, use and live in ways that do not feed this evil. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
When is the feast of St. Josephine Bakhita?
February 8, the day she died in 1947. It is an optional memorial in the Roman calendar and the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking.
What does “Bakhita” mean?
“Fortunate” or “lucky” in Arabic. It was the name her kidnappers gave her after she forgot her own.
Why is St. Bakhita the patron of trafficking victims?
Because she was herself kidnapped and sold into slavery as a child, and after her freedom she forgave her captors and became a witness to hope.
Where is St. Josephine Bakhita buried?
In the church of the Canossian Sisters at Schio, in northern Italy.
More saints and prayers
- St. Katharine Drexel
- St. Martin de Porres
- Patron saints
- Catholic prayer for forgiveness
- Works of mercy
- Saint of the day
- Saint feast days
Texts and sources
- Benedict XVI, encyclical Spe Salvi (2007), no. 3.
- Dates of beatification (1992) and canonization (October 1, 2000) follow the acts of the Holy See.