By Anne E Neuberger

Saint Josephine Bakhita - 1869-1947
Feast day: February 8

It was a still night in Sudan, but young Bakhita was not yet asleep. She was looking up at the moon and stars.

Bakhita was a child who was a slave. Everyday, she was forced to work. She had been bought and sold as if she were a thing, not a person. She was not free to play, go to school, or even have friends. People were rough and hurtful towards her.

But her soul was free. Looking into the soft light in the night sky, she pondered about who had made such wondrous things. Surely the creator must be much greater than the powerful people around her! She wanted to know this creator, and to tell him she had a special respect for him.

No one told her that this creator was God, our Creator. No one told her that God loved her and was with her.

When Bakhita was about fourteen, an Italian man living in Sudan bought her. He gave her to the Michieli family, his Italian friends who wanted Bahkita to take care of their little daughter, Mimmina. They were kind to her, and soon loved her. When they returned to Italy, they took Bakhita with them.

When Mimmina was old enough to go away to school, Bakhita went with her as her servant. At the convent school, Bakhita learned who had made the moon and stars! She studied and prayed and came to feel very close to God. When she was twenty years old, Bakhita chose to be baptized, taking the name Josephine. A few later, she joined the order of sisters who had educated her.

Sister Josephine Bakhita lived quietly, but she helped many others learn that God is with them too. People loved her—children, the townspeople, the other sisters. They loved her for her bright smile and gentle ways, and they came to see how close she was to God.

And she told them, “Be good, love God, pray for those who do not know God. What a great grace it is to know God!”