Each year hundreds of men, women and children in the U.S. and around the world are forced into some type of labor or the sex trade. The Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities ask you to pray to St. Josephine Bakhita to end this modern-day slavery.
Prayer to St. Josephine Bakhita
Oh, St. Bakhita, I/we pray for your intercession to God for those who have already fallen prey to traffickers/enslavers. We pray that like you, they might soon find a way to freedom, and that in the meantime they might find hope and consolation as you did, in their faith in Jesus, our Redeemer. We also pray that, inspired by your generous example, we may help through International Catholic Migration Commission to be the protective arms of Our Lord to prevent victims from falling prey to those who might seek to enslave them. This we pray through our Lord, Jesus Christ, who was, as a small child, together with his Holy Family, a refugee in need of welcome and protection, and who promised that as we help these his neediest, we encounter and help Him.
About St. Josephine Bakhita
St. Josephine Bakhita was born in about 1869 in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. Sometime between the age of seven to nine she was kidnapped by Arab slave traders. Over the course of 12 years (1877–1889) she was resold again three more times and then given away.
While living in Italy, Bakhita was left in the custody of the Canossian Sisters. An Italian court ruled that because Italy did not recognize slavery, Bakhita was free. She remained with the Canossians for the rest of her life.
Today, St. Bakhita is prayed to by those who work to end slavery and human trafficking in the U.S. and throughout the world.
