In 1883, she was
sold to the Italian Vice Consul. He took her back to Italy, where she was given
to another family to serve as a nanny. When the family traveled, Josephine was
placed in the care of the Canossian Sisters in Venice. The Canossians were
founded just a few decades earlier, and they had done mission work in Hong
Kong, Macau, and other parts of East Asia.
With the sisters, Josephine learned
more about God and devoted her life to him. When her owners returned to Italy,
she refused to leave the sisters. The sisters petitioned the court on
Josephine’s behalf, and the Italian court determined that Josephine was not a
slave (slavery had already been outlawed in Sudan when she was first
kidnapped), and she was free to live her own life.
In 1890, she was
baptized and confirmed and took the name Josephine Margaret Fortunata
(Fortunata is the Latin translation of the Arabic name Bakhita). The bishop who
gave her the sacraments was the future Pope Pius X. Josephine joined the
Canossian Daughters of Charity and worked as a cook and doorkeeper. She also
prepared missionary sisters for work in Africa.
Josephine was known
for being cheerful and agreeable. It’s hard to imagine how one could find
happiness after a life of such pain and dehumanization. It was said that “her
mind was always on God, and her heart in Africa.” A book on her life published
in the 1930s made her popular in Italy. When she died in 1947, thousands came
to pay their respects. Her story has a happy ending, but it still feels bitter, because I know so many of her people never found their freedom.
St. Josephine
Bakhita’s feast day is February 8. She is the patron of Sudan.
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