St Josephine Bakhita

She is known as the “Witness of hope”. Her symbol is the broken chains: her freedom after slavery and her journey of faith, in which God’s love enabled her to overcome hatred and suffering.

The prayer dedicated to her asks that we defend the dignity and freedom of others, break the chains of hatred and violence, and bring the light of hope to the world.

She was born in Sudan around 1869. As a little girl she was kidnapped, given the name “Bakhita”, which means “fortunate” or “blessed”, and sold as a slave. She suffered more than words can tell.

When she reached Italy, she at last recovered her dignity and her freedom in the love of God. In 1890 she was baptised and given the name Josephine, and in 1893 she joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity.

All her life she served faithfully in simple tasks, as doorkeeper and as cook, and in this way she bore witness to God’s love and forgiveness. Her life remains a model of true freedom, the freedom that is born of God’s love, and a witness of hope for our time.

She died in 1947 and was canonised in 2000. She is the patron saint of Sudan, and her feast day, 8 February, is also, all over the world, the World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking.