St. Josephine Bakhita

From slavery to freedom
Mrs Michieli was pleading her case before the court of Venice. It was the year 1890. Several months earlier she had to rush to Surakin on the Red Sea to assist her husband who had opened a large hotel there. She had left her daughter with the Canossian Sisters of the Institute of Catechumens in Venice. Living with these nuns, Bakhita came to know about God whom she had experienced in her heart without knowing who he was right from her childhood. "Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself: Who could be the Master of these beautiful things? And I felt a great desire to see him, to know him and to pay him homage."

On January 9, 1890, Bakhita now twenty-one years of age, embraced the Catholic faith and received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist. She was given a new name, Josephine. Being illiterate, she did not know how to express her deep joy. She let her big sparkling eyes reveal the deep emotions within her.

Mrs Michieli was back in Italy to take Mimmina and Bakhita with her to Surakin. Bakhita, however, wanted to remain with the Sisters to serve that God who had shown her so many proofs of his love. "Bakhita is my slave," Mrs Michieli argued before the royal Procurator. "According to the laws of Africa she belongs to me and I have full rights over her. No one can compel me to set her free."

To which the Procurator replied: "Madam, I wish to remind you that we are in Italy where, by the grace of God, slavery does not exist. Only the girl can decide her state with absolute liberty." Then, turning to Bakhita, he posed the question, "Would you like to go back to Africa with the lady, or do you want to remain here, a free citizen, but far from your country?"

"I love the lady very much and feel sorry to displease her, but I will not leave this place because I do not wish to lose my good God," was Bakhita's firm reply, and she burst into tears. The Procurator broke the silence that had enwrapped the entire audience, by declaring Bakhita free in the name of the law.

The tragic years
Bakhita was born in the year 1869 in Sudan. "My family lived in the very centre of Africa, in a suburb of Darfur, called Olgossa, near Mount Agilere. There was daddy and mummy, my three brothers and two sisters." One morning, when Bakhita was about seven years old, she went with a friend for a walk in the fields. While they were busy gathering herbs, two Arabs wielding a knife and a gun kidnapped her. She was then forced to march from town to town without food or drink the whole day. Thus began for Bakhita a life of slavery which went on for about 10 years. The fright and terrible experiences she underwent blotted out from her memory who her parents were and even what was the name they gave her. It was her abductors who called her "Bakhita" which means "Fortunate".

Sold and resold in the markets of El Obeid and Khartoum, she suffered the bitter physical and moral humiliations of a slave. Bakhita was brought and sold four times. The fourth time she was brought by a Turkish General. One day the General had a quarrel with his wife and to give vent to his anger, ordered the two girl slaves who were present, to follow him into the courtyard. He called two sturdy soldiers who ordered them to lie down on their backs. They whipped them so cruelly and strongly, that the whipping on Bakhita's thigh took away the flesh with it and left a deep furrow, the scar of which she bore all her life! The flogging immobilized her for quite some months.

Another Turkish tradition was to tattoo the body of the slave. They were "signs" of belonging to their master. The Turkish General's wife decided to "gift" them with the tattoo. Bakhita was horrified to see the first slave girl tattooed and carried away in a pool of blood. Bakhita trembled when her turn came. But the mistress had a whip in hand, there was no escape. Bakhita was made to lie down. Four strong slaves held her down. Her face was to be spared. A design was traced in flour. Bakhita had six long cuts made with a razor on her chest, sixty lines on her abdomen and about forty-eight on her right arm. After that salt was rubbed into the wounds so that they opened up deeper still, leaving scars when healed. Bakhita was inflicted with as many as a hundred and fourteen wounds all over the body. Bakhita herself said it was a miracle she lived. "If I did not die," she said, "it was because the Lord had destined me for better things!" For one month the slaves were confined to their mats, unable to move or even swab the lymph the oozed from their wounds.

It was in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, that an Italian consul, Signor Callistus Legnani, purchased her. She was surprised that in his home no one used the lash when giving her commands. Instead, she was treated with love and cordiality. Peace, warmth and joy began to fill her life.

When the consul had to return to Italy, Bakhita pleaded to be allowed to go with him and a friend of his, Augustus Michieli. On reaching Genoa, the consul handed Bakhita over to Augustus, at the special request of Mrs Michieli. She stayed with her new family in Zianigo, near Mirano Veneto. When their daughter Mimmina was born, Bakhita became her baby-sitter and close friend.

The golden years
Having attained her freedom, Bakhita felt God calling her to the religious life. "I manifested this desire to my confessor who told me to speak to the Superior of the Institute, Sr Luisa Bottesella. Sr Luisa forwarded my application to the Provincial, Mother Anne Previtali. Mother Anne not only accepted me but also wanted to preside over my vestition and later, over my final vows.

On December 7, 1893, I entered the novitiate. I received the habit from Mother Anne in 1895, and on December 8, 1896, I made my perpetual profession in her hands. It seemed God was keen on fulfilling the wishes of Mother Anne for, barely a month later, he called her to himself on January 11, 1897."

For the next fifty years, Sr Josephine Bakhita was the treasure of the community of Canossian Daughters of Charity at Schio. She gave herself completely to God whom she loved to call "The Master." The word "Master" held new positive meanings to her. Her humility, simplicity, utter genuineness and broad smile won the hearts of everyone. The Sisters in the convent esteemed her for her constantly sweet nature, exquisite goodness and deep desire to make the Lord known. "Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know him. What a great grace it is to know God!", she used to say. The children adored her and affectionately referred to her as The Black Sister. "The Black Sister said this...The Black Sister did this...Oh, the Black Sister is so wonderful," was their constant refrain.

Her obedience was spontaneous and from her heart. She would literally fly when summoned by her Superior, and was ready for any work: cooking, sewing, embroidery, looking after the door - anything and everything. "It's enough they tell me what to do. I'm prepared to do whatsoever I am asked to do."

Bakhita never expressed bitterness or resentment at the harsh treatment she had received from her persecutors. She willingly forgave them, prayed for them and offered her pains for their eternal salvation. When asked what would she do if she met them, Bakhita replied, "If I would meet those slave drivers who kidnapped me and those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, because, if it had not happened I would not be a Christian and a religious." She thought kindly of her terrible masters of the past. "They did not know Christ. So, how could they treat me well?" She was especially noted for her meekness and gentleness. The contemplation of Jesus crucified as supreme manifestation of redemptive Love gave meaning to her sufferings and life. She was astonished that some of those who were brought up as Christians, did not live in accordance with their faith. "How is it possible to offend such a good Master as Christ?", she exclaimed.

Her heart was completely detached from earthly goods. She once told her Superior: "Mother, the only two things I possess are my Rosary beads and the crucifix. But if you want, I am prepared to give up even these."

On her way home...with Our Lady
As she grew older she experienced long, painful years of sickness. Sr Bakhita continued to witness to faith, goodness and Christian hope. When other asked how she was, she would smile and say, "As the Master desires." Then, turning to the crucifix, she would say, "I look at him, I look at him. How much he has suffered for me! And I have nothing to offer him, nothing at all."

Deprived of her parents and her family, Sr Bakhita found great comfort in finding a true Mother in the Blessed Virgin Mary. "What can be more beautiful than to have Our Lady as a Mother?" she would remark. It was the Blessed Virgin who came to relieve her from all pain on February 8, 1947. "How happy I am to go to Our Blessed Lady...Our Blessed Lady...Our Blessed Lady!", were her last words. The smile on her face confirmed her final encounter with the Mother of God.

The Pearl of Sudan, St. Josephine Bakhita
Josephine Bakhita was beatified on May 17, 1992 by Pope John Paul II. She was canonized on October 1, 2000 by the same Pope. Citing Ps 19:8, "The law of the Lord is perfect,...it gives wisdom to the simple," the Holy Father continued: "These words resound powerfully in the life of Sr Josephine Bakhita. Abducted and sold into slavery at the tender age of seven, she suffered much at the hands of cruel masters. But she came to understand the profound truth that God, and not man, is the true Master of every human being, of every human life. This experience became a source of great wisdom for this humble daughter of Africa...The history of her life inspired not passive acceptance but the firm resolve to work effectively to free girls and women from oppression and violence, and to return them to their dignity in the full exercise of their rights."

Bakhita's fame has spread to all continents and many, many graces have been received through her intercession. With great gratitude in our hearts we glorify God in St. Josephine Bakhita. May she grant peace and harmony to the Church in Africa, especially to Sudan.

May the Pearl of Sudan teach us to walk the way of simplicity, humility, love, forgiveness and gratitude, for she is indeed our "UNIVERSAL SISTER".