Saint Josephine Bakhita was born in the Darfur region of Sudan in 1869. At the age of seven she was seized by slave traders. She was bought, sold and given away more than 12 times before being freed in 1889. She was left with the Canossian sisters, where she encountered Christianity for the first time. She entered the novitiate and spent the rest of her life in the Canossian convent in Schio, northern Italy. Saint Bakhita is the patron saint of Sudan and of survivors of human trafficking. Her feast day is celebrated on 8 February, which is the International Day of Prayer Against Human Trafficking.
Written by Paul Cavadino