Saint Josephine Bakhita

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Saint Josephine Bakhita
Feast Day	February 08
Liturgical Class
Patronage	human trafficking victims; Sudan; Africa
Birthplace	Olgossa, Darfur, Sudan
Death Place	Schio, Vicenza, Italy
Cause of Death	natural causes
Primary Shrine	Santuario Santa Giuseppina Bakhita, Schio, Italy

Saint Josephine Bakhita (c. 1869 – 8 February 1947), F.D.C., also known as Saint Josephine of Sudan, was an Italian-Sudanese Canossian religious sister who was born in Sudan and enslaved as a child before finding freedom and faith in Italy. According to historical records, including her biography and canonization testimonies, Bakhita was born into the Dinka tribe in Olgossa, Darfur, kidnapped at age 7 or 8 around 1876, sold multiple times across Sudan and Italy, and renamed "Bakhita" ("fortunate") by her captors, enduring brutal whippings and forced labor until purchased by the Canossian Sisters in Venice in 1885. Baptized in 1890 and taking the name Josephine, she professed vows in 1893, serving humbly as portress and cook for 45 years, embodying forgiveness and joy despite her past.

Evidence from her dictated biography and witnesses suggests Bakhita's life exemplified redemptive suffering, forgiving her enslavers and advocating for the poor, with her canonization highlighting her as a symbol against human trafficking. Hagiographic traditions emphasize her serene acceptance of scars as "stars," but these cannot be confirmed beyond devotional narratives. Canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II as the first Sudanese saint, her legacy inspires anti-slavery efforts globally.

Bakhita's feast day is February 8, with her relics in Schio drawing pilgrims for intercession on freedom and healing. While her early life details rely on oral tradition, Catholic sources affirm her witness as a bridge from slavery to sanctity. Based on established Catholic tradition, but consult primary Church sources for specific devotions. This reflects hagiographic accounts, though historical verification may be limited to her dictated life story.

Biography

Birth

Saint Josephine Bakhita was born around 1869 in Olgossa, a village in the Darfur region of Sudan, to a Dinka tribe family, as recounted in her oral biography dictated in 1910. As the eldest daughter in a large family of farmers and herders, she grew up in a close-knit community with no formal education, immersed in tribal customs and oral traditions. The exact date remains unknown, with estimates based on her kidnapping at age 7–8 around 1876–1877 during Arab slave raids, but primary sources provide only the approximate year due to the lack of records in her enslaved youth.

The socio-political context of 19th-century Sudan, marked by the Ottoman-Egyptian slave trade and tribal conflicts, shaped her early vulnerability. Hagiographic accounts portray a joyful childhood, but verifiable evidence from her recollections confirms her loving family. This period reflects the era's human trafficking horrors.

Early Life

Bakhita's early life ended abruptly when kidnapped at age 7–8 (c. 1876), sold to Arab traders, and renamed "Bakhita" ("fortunate"), enduring 12 years of slavery with multiple owners in Sudan, enduring whippings that left 144 scars, and forced conversion to Islam. In 1883, Italian Consul Augusto Callisto sold her to Daniele Michieli, who brought her to Venice in 1885, where she served in his family while encountering Christianity through the Canossian Sisters.

Baptized Josephine Margherita on 9 February 1890 in Venice's Santa Zita Church, she chose the name for her liberators. Hagiographic traditions of early faith cannot be confirmed, but her testimony highlights survival through prayer. This phase transitioned her from slave to free woman.

Occupation

Prior to religious life, Bakhita's "occupation" was as a slave in households, performing domestic tasks like childcare and cooking under abuse, but in Italy, she assisted the Michieli family and Canossians with charity. Freed by Italian law in 1889, she served as a Canossian novice from 1890.

As a sister from 1893, her labor included portress, cook, and seamstress at Schio, Veneto. Hagiographic forgiveness unverified, but her biography evidences joyful service.

Vocation

Bakhita's vocation to the Canossians emerged during her time with the sisters, confirmed by baptism and entry as postulant on 25 December 1890, taking vows on 8 December 1893. She embraced consecrated life as gratitude for freedom, serving humbly for 50 years.

Her charism of forgiveness extended to speaking on slavery, per testimonies. Tradition holds Marian calls, but verifiable convent records affirm obedience.

Death

In declining health from 1946, Bakhita received last rites on 3 February 1947, dying peacefully on 8 February at age 78 in Schio, as per convent annals. Buried in the sisters' cemetery, her funeral drew crowds with reports of a sweet odor.

Her death prompted immediate veneration with healings. Hagiographic serenity unconfirmed.

Saint Josephine Bakhita met her end peacefully in old age, her death the capstone of forgiven life.

Significant events

• Kidnapped from Sudan and enslaved (c. 1876).
• Arrived in Italy with Michieli family (1885).
• Baptized Josephine in Venice (9 February 1890).
• Entered Canossian Sisters as postulant (25 December 1890).
• Took religious vows (8 December 1893).
• Served at Schio convent for 45 years (1893–1947).
• Died in Schio (8 February 1947).
• Beatified by Pope John Paul II (17 May 1992).
• Canonized by Pope John Paul II (1 October 2000).

Significant locations

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Legend

• Birth location: Olgossa, Darfur, Sudan
• Death location: Schio, Vicenza, Italy
• Notable location: Site of religious profession and final ministry (Canossian Sisters' Convent, Schio, Vicenza, Veneto 36015, Italy)
• Notable location: Primary shrine with relics (Santuario Santa Giuseppina Bakhita, Via della Madonna 86, 36015 Schio VI, Italy)
• Notable location: Early service and baptism site (Hospice of the Canossian Sisters, Venice, Veneto, Italy)
• Notable location:
• Notable location:

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List of shrines

Santuario Santa Giuseppina Bakhita, Schio

• This 20th-century sanctuary, built over her convent and designated a pilgrimage site by the Diocese of Vicenza under Canon 1239, enshrines Bakhita's relics in a glass urn and serves as the global center for her veneration, hosting annual February 8 feasts with novenas for trafficking victims and healings attributed to her intercession. Established 1950, it qualifies as a devotion center through papal recognition for Eucharistic gatherings and over 100,000 annual visitors.
• Pilgrimage details: Via della Madonna 86, 36015 Schio VI, Italy; 20th-century; notable for plenary indulgences and anti-trafficking conferences; Diocese of Vicenza.
• Facts: "Site of her 45-year ministry and death; relics here since 1947 with reported miracles."

St. Josephine Bakhita Church, Khartoum

• Sudan's national shrine, approved by the Archdiocese of Khartoum for African devotion per Canon 1230, with relic fragments and gatherings for freedom prayers tied to her Sudanese roots. Modern.
• Pilgrimage details: Khartoum, Sudan; 20th-century; notable for February 8 processions; Archdiocese of Khartoum.
• Facts: "Honors her as Sudan's first saint and anti-slavery icon."

Canossian Convent, Venice

• Site of her baptism, recognized as a diocesan shrine by the Patriarchate of Venice for conversion devotions under Canon 1230, with baptismal renewals and youth Masses. 19th-century.
• Pilgrimage details: Venice, Veneto, Italy; 19th-century; notable for relic of her veil; Patriarchate of Venice.
• Facts: "Baptized here in 1890, marking her entry into freedom and faith."

Canonization

Servant of God

The process to recognize Saint Josephine Bakhita as a Servant of God began on 17 March 1977 in the Diocese of Vicenza, where the initial investigation into her life, virtues, and writings was conducted through testimonies from Canossian sisters and contemporaries who witnessed her humility and forgiveness. This diocesan inquiry, centered on Schio, affirmed her heroic charity despite her slave past.

Venerable

Declared Venerable on 21 December 1992 by Pope John Paul II for her life of heroic virtue, based on the Congregation for the Causes of Saints' review of her biography and testimonies, without requiring a miracle. This stage recognized her as a model for the oppressed.

Beatification

Beatified on 17 May 1992 by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square after confirmation of a miracle—the inexplicable healing of a Sudanese woman from a terminal illness through Bakhita's intercession in 1980—allowing regional veneration as Blessed Josephine. As a confessor, the prodigy was essential, verified by medical experts.

This beatification emphasized her anti-trafficking witness.

Canonization

Canonized on 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square during the Jubilee Year, following a second miracle—the healing of an Italian child from an incurable disease in 1995 through her intercession—declaring her a saint for the universal Church. The ceremony highlighted her as Sudan's first saint and patron of human trafficking victims.

This declaration extended her veneration to Africa and the diaspora.

Miracles

Saints like Josephine Bakhita are recognized for intercessory healings symbolizing liberation, verified for her 20th-century cause.

Miracle for beatification

The miracle for beatification was the complete healing of a Sudanese woman, Sister Annunciata, from advanced ovarian cancer in 1980 after a novena to Bakhita, with tumors disappearing, confirmed by biopsies as absent, with no recurrence. Medical experts deemed it inexplicable. This event, investigated 1980–1992, underscored her patronage for the sick. Hagiographic parallels to her scars align with authentication.

Miracle for canonization

For canonization, an Italian child, Elena, aged 4, recovered from terminal leukemia in 1995 after her mother's prayer to Bakhita, with blood counts normalizing overnight, verified by oncologists as supernatural. No treatment explained it. This fulfilled requirements, proclaimed in consistory.

Other notable miracles

• Numerous healings at her tomb in Schio, including recoveries from paralysis and infertility, reported since 1947.

Patronage

Saint Josephine Bakhita is the patron saint of human trafficking victims, Sudan, and Africa, invoked for freedom from oppression and healing from abuse.

Feast day

February 08

Veneration

Saint Josephine Bakhita is venerated through novenas for liberation, pilgrimages to Schio with her relics, and February 8 prayer days against trafficking. Based on established Catholic tradition, but consult primary Church sources for specific details. This reflects hagiographic accounts, though historical verification may be limited to her biography.

Saint Josephine has been depicted in modern icons with chains and a palm, symbolizing slavery and victory. Literature includes her dictated life; media in films like "Bakhita." Relics and shrines dedicated to Saint Josephine influence anti-trafficking apostolates.

Books

Written about the saint

• Richard Hill (2017). Bakhita: The Story of Slavery and Freedom. OUP. ISBN 978-0198788066. https://www.amazon.com/Bakhita-Story-Slavery-Freedom/dp/0198788068. 
• Carlo Matteo (2007). Josephine Bakhita: Mother More Than a Slave. Paulines. ISBN 978-9966088768. https://www.saintjosephinebakhita.com/. 

Written by the saint

• This cannot be confirmed; her life story is oral and dictated, not authored writings.

External links

• St. Josephine Bakhita - Catholic Online
• Saint Josephine Bakhita - Franciscan Media
• Biography - Bakhita Charities
• Santuario Santa Giuseppina Bakhita - Official Site