Saint Josephine Bakhita

I was born in 1869 in Sudan in Africa. As a child I was kidnapped and sold as a slave. After great hardships, an Italian official purchased me and treated me with kindness. Later he took me with him to Italy. Once there he left me with a family named Michieli. When the couple’s daughter was born, I became her caregiver and friend. Later, the couple sent us both to the Canossian Sisters at a convent in Venice. There I learned about God and I developed a desire to become a Catholic. At my baptism, I was named Josephine. In 1896 I became a Sister. I served the community by cooking, sewing and attending to the door. I was kind and sweet to the children and encouraged  less fortunate people to have faith. I died in 1947 at the convent surrounded by the other Sisters.