Biography of saint josephine bakhita for kids
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A Rough Start
Saint Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan, Africa around1869. Her early childhood was a happy one. However, when she was seven, she was kidnapped by slave traders! From then on she was called Bakhita, meaning “lucky.” She was sold many times during the next twelve years. Some of her masters were nice but some were very cruel.
Free at Last
One of her mistresses had to travel to Sudan but she decided not to take Bakhita with her, leaving her with the Canossian Sisters in Venice. During this time, the sisters taught her about God and decided she wanted to enter the Church. When her mistress came back, Bakhita did not want to leave the sisters. Eventually, the case was taken to the Italian court and it was discovered that the slave traders that had captured Bakhita were outlaws. Slavery had been outlawed in Sudan before Bakhita was born. Because of this, she was freed and was no longer a slave!
Bakhita decided to remain with the sisters and she was baptized o
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St Josephine Bakhita
St Josephine Bakhita is the patron saint of victims of human trafficking. Her feast day is 8 February, which we celebrate every year with a day of prayer for all those who have suffered from human trafficking.
Born in Sudan, St Bakhita bore 144 physical scars throughout her life which were received after she was kidnapped at the age of nine and sold into slavery. Such was the trauma experienced that she forgot her birth name and her kidnappers gave her the name Bakhita meaning ‘fortunate’. Flogging, humiliation and maltreatment were part of her daily life. She experienced the moral, spiritual and physical humiliations typical with slavery.
It was only in 1882 that her suffering was alleviated after she was bought for the Italian Consul. This event was to transform her life. In this family and, subsequently in a second Italian home, she came to discover love in a profound way even though at first she was unable to name its source.
A change in her owner’s cir
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LIVED: Bakhita was born in 1869 in Sudan. She was kidnapped by slave traders at the age of seven; they gave her the name Bakhita, which means “lucky.” She died in 1947 in Italy.
MISSION: As a girl, Bakhita would look up at the moon and stars, resolving to serve their mästare. Later in life, she devoted herself to promoting Catholic missions to Africa.
ADVENTURES: Many weeks after being kidnapped, Bakhita found herself at a slave marknad, chained to another girl her age. The girls passed long hours telling one another about their families and how they had been kidnapped. Before long, they were planning an escape.
Their chance came one day when the overseer vårdslöst left them unchained and alone. Seeing no one around, they linked hands and ran into the countryside as fast as their legs could go. They ran through the wilderness all night, terrified of being caught and even more terrified of the roars of wild beasts; whenever the animals came too close, they took shelter in a