As the Patron Saint of victims of human trafficking, Saint Bakhita’s legacy serves as an inspiration to millions around the world. Pope Francis said that “as the Jubilee focuses the Church on the theme of hope, we must also ask ourselves how we can nourish that hope for the millions of people who are trapped in modern slavery.”
Nine-year-old Bakhita was captured by slave traders while playing in the fields near her home in Sudan. Her parents had warned her to be careful, as her older sister had previously been captured and enslaved.
Over the next ten years, captive Bakhita passed through the hands of five different slave owners. When the first slave traders captured her, she remained silent when they asked her name. In response, they called her Bakhita, which means “the happy one”.
And she was lucky. She and another young girl escaped from these slavers. They ran into the woods and found freedom. The girls’ newfound freedom, however, was short-lived. Another slave trader discovered the wandering girls and took his booty to the slave market at El Obeid. The slaver decided, however, to keep Bakhita to serve as his daughter’s maid.
The situation was not altogether unpleasant until one day Bakhita accidentally broke a prized vase belonging to the slaver’s son. Enraged, the son demanded that the father rid the family of Bakhita. Her third owner was a Turkish military officer and his family. The women of the house mistreated Bakhita terribly, regularly beating her for no reason and tattooing her with a needle to satisfy their whims of fashion. Fortunately, this situation ended when the owner and family sold his slaves at Khartoum, from where he returned to Turkey on temporary leave.
The next person to purchase the teenager was the diplomatic vice-consul for Italy at Khartoum. The man treated her kindly and tried to relocate her with her parents. Bakhita, however, could not recall where her parents lived. When the search for her origins turned up empty, the diplomat brought Bakhita to his home in Genoa. A family friend, Michieli, and her young daughter, Mimmina, grew fond of Bakhita. It was agreed that this family would become the new owner of the slave girl, who by now was fourteen.
Michieli loved Bakhita and treated her well. Since the Lady’s wealthy family owned a hotel located near the Red Sea, it was envisioned that Bakhita eventually would travel with the family and work at the hotel as a waitress. In the meantime, the Sudanese girl was kept busy as a servant for the family’s daughter.
At twenty, Bakhita prepared to leave the home in Genoa for the Red Sea hotel. Just before leaving, the family steward suggested that Bakhita ought to be instructed in the Catholic faith, and, if she wished, to be baptized. Bakhita and Mimmina took up residence at Venice in the convent of the Daughters of Charity of Canossa. From the first moment she entered the convent, Bakhita felt at home. She loved the peace and prayerfulness of the convent.
Ten months later, Lady Michieli reappeared at the door of the convent. Gently but firmly, Bakhita refused to leave. The lady insisted that Bakhita must leave since the woman had purchased the young girl as a slave and slaves were the property of their owners. The mother superior perceived the impasse. Because Church law was involved, she called in the cardinal-patriarch, who, because civil law applied as well, called in the king’s procurator.
These two officials of Church and State deliberated Bakhita’s future. When they asked Bakhita to state her position, she replied, “I love Lady Michieli dearly, and to part from Mimmina cuts me to the heart. But I shall not leave this place because I cannot risk losing God.” The cardinal and procurator arrived at the same decision: since slavery had been declared illegal in Italy almost a hundred years before, as soon as any foreign slave touched Italian soil, he or she immediately and automatically became free.
Within weeks, the cardinal baptized twenty-year-old Bakhita into the Catholic Church. She rejoiced in God’s love for her. Feeling loved and called by God, Bakhita expressed her desire to become a nun in the religious community of the sisters. The mother superior replied that Bakhita would be most welcome.
On December 8, 1896, she took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. She spent the next fifty years serving God and others in the local community houses of the Daughters of Charity of Canossa: at Venice, as portress at the Catechumenate Institute; at Schio, as cook and later as portress in the school and orphanage for girls; up and down the Italian peninsula as fund-raiser for the foreign missions. She was given the affectionate title Madre Moretta, which means “the Black Mother.”
The sanctity of Bakhita was nothing extraordinary: it was not showy, but it shone through her whole life. It consisted of very down-to-earth wisdom. She had the proper word for all: for the soldiers whom she invited very clearly to go “to confess [their sins]” and for the seminarians to whom she recommended holiness.
For the women who lingered around gossiping, she advised: “Go home quickly to prepare the meal, otherwise your husband will get impatient.” Everyone, both great and small, was touched by her. When she went around to promote missionary vocations, she was accompanied by a Sister who did the talks.
However, everyone was drawn toward Bakhita, who, going up on the platform, with few words, would manage to touch the hearts of all: “Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know Him still!” Then she would make the sign of the cross and quickly go away.
Bakhita died in 1947. She was canonized in 2000, becoming the first female black Catholic saint in the modern era.
As the Patron Saint of victims of human trafficking, Saint Bakhita’s legacy serves as an inspiration to millions around the world. Human trafficking, which thrives in the shadows, remains one of the most pervasive and destructive crimes of our time. With over 50 million people worldwide believed to be living in modern slavery the need to combat this crime is more urgent than ever.
Pope Francis said that “as the Jubilee focuses the Church on the theme of hope, we must also ask ourselves how we can nourish that hope for the millions of people who are trapped in modern slavery. Where do we get new impetus to combat the trade in human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of children and girls, forced labour, including prostitution, drug and arms trafficking?” he asked.
The Pope concludes. “As we remember Saint Bakhita’s courageous journey from slavery to sainthood, let her example be a beacon of hope for those trapped in modern slavery and a call to action for all. Through compassion, awareness, and united efforts, we can make strides toward ending human trafficking and ensuring respect for human dignity and rights for all.”
