Theme

BAKHITA
Saint Bakhita was born in 1869 in Dafur region of Western Sudan in the Rift Valley of Olgossa close to a Mount, Gebel Agilere. She had 3 brothers and 3 sisters. Seeing the sun, moon & stars, she asked herself, 'Who is the Master of these beautiful things?' When she was 8years old she went for a walk with her 14 year old friend when two strangers came and kidnapped only her. With fear, she could not speak so they named her Bakhita ie lucky one. In the captor's house, she met another young girl slightly older than her & they became friends. 

While on trade, they escaped but landed in another captor's hand, who sold them to a chief, to be maids to his two daughters who liked them. Bakhita made a mistake one day and was beaten by te chief's son to the extent of unconsciousness. She lay on a pallet for more than a month. The Chief himself sold them to a Turkish General whose wife and mother were cruel to them. After months, she was sold to an Italian consul in Khartous called Callisto who loved her along with his wife and household. This was her 5th and final purchase and her work was merely to assist the maid with household duties. 2 years after the Consul was called back to Italy & he took Bakhita with him & left her under the care of Mrs. Maria Turina Micheli who trianed her to be witress in the hotel in Suakin. 

Micheli's administrator, Mr. Checchini Illuminator influenced her being given catechetical lessons to be received into the Catholic church. H himself taught her and Mrs Micheli's daughter, Mimmina & they were both admitted into the Institute for CatecheticalInstructions for 3 years. At 21 years on 9th September, 1890, Bakhita was baptized and confirmed as Josiephine, Margaret, Fortunata ie 'lucky one' by Cardinal Domenico Agostini in the chapel of the catechumenate dedicated to St. John the Baptist. She felt the urge to consecrate herself to God among the Canossian Daughters of Charity. The superior of the congregation Sr Anna Previtali was happy at her decision & on 7th December, 1893 she joined the novitiate in the Institute of the Catechumenate in Venice. After 1 and 1/2 she was called to Verona to receive the Hol Habit & returned to pronounce her 1st vows. Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto (later Pope Pius X (saint)) told her, 'take your vows without any fear. Jesus loves you. Love him & serve im always as you have up to now.' Sr Anna received her vows on 8th December, 1896 & died shortly after.

She was posted to Schio in the foothills of the Alps in Northern Italy in 1902. Later she went to the novitiate in Vimercate for vocational work & returned to Schio which was turned into  a Military hospital during the 1st World war. Later the doctors diagnosed progressive arthritis & asthmatic bronchitis with cough, caused by the extremely cold whether of Northern Italy. It became chronic & made her chair-ridden, as she could neither stand nor lie down. She died on the 8th of February, 1947, 8.10am & was buried on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. It was victory at last. On 1st October, 2000, Pope John Paul II proclaimed her a saint. She showed an exceptional amount of goodness, humility and love, & had a spirit of gentleness, simplicity & courtesy in her Christian life.

 

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