THE Feast of Canossian nun, St Josephine Bakhita patron saint of Sudan, as well as victims of slavery and human trafficking, was on February 8, and in support of the call from Pope Francis to end the injustice of human trafficking against all people, in particular children, we remember her this weekend.
The United Nations estimates that one in every three victims of human trafficking is a child. It is estimated that 30 million children have lost their childhood through sexual exploitation over the past 30 years. Annually, millions of children are trafficked into domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, pornography production, forced marriage, illegal adoption, forced labour, and to become child soldiers.
St Josephine Bakhita’s feast day is an opportunity to raise awareness about human trafficking involving children. Pope Francis has called us to make a difference. Sometimes our steps are small, but together we can achieve a great deal especially when we work with others to stop human trafficking of the innocent and vulnerable.
St Josephine Bakhita died on February 8, 1947. She was born in the Western Sudanese region of Darfur in 1869. Josephine was 7 years old when taken by slave traders, she was bought and sold many times over in the following decade. She was taken to Italy by a family, who ‘owned’ her. In Italy she was freed and met the Canossian Daughters of Charity, became a Catholic and joined the Canossian Sisters. Josephine Bakhita dedicated her life to sharing her story and to supporting the poor and suffering. Later, she became a Canossian Sister and was canonised in 2000.
Today we support a global movement declared by Pope Francis three years ago and known as the Worldwide Network of Religious Life against Trafficking in Persons.