Saints
J

Saint · Modern

Josephine Bakhita

Sudanese woman enslaved as a child who became a Canossian sister in Italy; canonised in 2000

Period
c. 1869 – 1947
Feast day
8 February
Associated region
Darfur and Khartoum (Sudan); Venice and Schio (Italy)

Kidnapped as a child in Darfur and sold several times in the slave markets of Sudan, she was brought to Italy, was baptised in Venice in 1890 and lived for fifty years as a Canossian sister at Schio. She was canonised in 2000.

Key timeline

2 events
View full timeline (6)
  1. 9 January 1890

    Baptised Josephine in Venice

  2. 8 February 1947

    Death at Schio

Bakhita was born around 1869 in Darfur, in Sudan. At about nine she was kidnapped by slave-traders; the name Bakhita, “fortunate”, was given to her by her captors, and she later said the terror had made her forget the name her parents gave her. She was sold and resold in the markets of El Obeid and Khartoum and was cruelly beaten and scarred by owners.

In Khartoum she was bought by the Italian consul Callisto Legnani, and when he left for Italy she asked to go with him. In Genoa she was given to the family of Augusto Michieli, near Mirano Veneto, and became nanny to their daughter. When the Michielis went to Suakin, the girl and Bakhita were entrusted to the Canossian Sisters in Venice.

There she was instructed in the faith and on 9 January 1890 was baptised with the name Josephine. When Mrs Michieli came back to take her, Bakhita, by then of age, chose to stay; the Holy See’s biography notes the freedom that Italian law gave her. On 8 December 1896 she made her vows as a Canossian sister.

For about fifty years she lived in the community at Schio, near Vicenza, cooking, sewing and keeping the door, where children of the Canossian schools knew her as “Madre Moretta”. She died at Schio on 8 February 1947.

Principal written sources

  • Holy See biography published for her canonisation (2000).
  • Benedict XVI, Spe salvi §3 (2007).

Full timeline

  1. c. 1869Approximate

    Birth in Darfur

  2. c. 1877–1878Approximate

    Kidnapped and enslaved

    At about nine years old.

  3. 9 January 1890

    Baptised Josephine in Venice

  4. 8 December 1896

    Vows as a Canossian sister

  5. 8 February 1947

    Death at Schio

  6. 1 October 2000Church-recognised

    Canonised by John Paul II

Her cause opened twelve years after her death; her heroic virtue was declared on 1 December 1978. John Paul II canonised her on 1 October 2000, calling her “a shining advocate of genuine emancipation”, and Benedict XVI took her story as the model of Christian hope in Spe salvi. At the canonisation John Paul II asked the Church to invoke her for “all our persecuted and enslaved brothers and sisters”.

Recognition

  • Catholic Church. Canonised by Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2000. Benedict XVI made her the example of hope in his encyclical Spe salvi (2007). Feast: 8 February.
Feast day
  • 8 February — Catholic Church, the day of her death
Venerated in (starting dataset)
Catholic. Canonised by the Catholic Church.
Patronage and roles (starting dataset)
Sudan, victims of trafficking
Places
Darfur · El Obeid · Khartoum · Venice · Schio

No legends or miracle accounts are recorded for this entry.

About the image · Editorial design

Decorative initial J, drawn for the Atlas. It is not a likeness of Josephine Bakhita.

Editorial status

Reference entry, drafted with particular care. Key dates and facts were spot-checked during a build session against the sources marked “consulted” below. Only the points named in that note were checked; the rest of the entry has not been.

References

Original dataset record

Imported unchanged from “Kimi “Top 100 Saints” dataset (top_100_saints.json)”, record 96. Values here are the starting dataset, not verified facts; where the Atlas differs, the reason is noted below.

id
96
name
Josephine Bakhita
summary
Sudanese-Italian saint and former slave (1869–1947)
description
Born in Darfur, kidnapped into slavery at about age seven and sold repeatedly ('Bakhita' — 'fortunate' — was the name her captors gave her). Freed in Italy, she became a Canossian sister, serving 50 years in Schio with legendary kindness. Canonized 2000, the first Black female saint of the modern era; patroness of Sudan and of trafficking victims; feast 8 February.
born
c. 1869, Darfur
died
8 February 1947, Schio
feast_day
8 February
patron_of
Sudan; victims of trafficking
vocation
Canossian sister, freed slave
region
Sudan / Italy
tradition
Catholic
era
Modern Era
1