Story

 BAKHITA

Around 2006 I received a pendant of St Bakhita from my nephew Oduwa’s teacher at Sacred Heart’s Nursery and Primary School, Iguosa. Prior to that day id never heard of her. Receiving that gift intrigued me to find out more about this lady whose pendant I now wore from time to time. This was what I found out -

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, that is, lucky one. In the captor's house, she met another young girl slightly older than her and 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 the 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 and left her under the care of Mrs. Maria Turina Micheli who trained her to be waitress in the hotel in Suakin. 

Micheli's administrator, Mr. Checchini Illuminator influenced her being given catechetical lessons to be received into the Catholic Church. He himself taught her and Mrs Micheli's daughter, Mimmina and they were both admitted into the Institute for Catechetical Instructions for 3 years. At 21 years on 9th September, 1890, Bakhita was baptized and confirmed as Josiephine, Margaret, Fortunata, that is, '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 and on 7th December, 1893 she joined the novitiate in the Institute of the Catechumenate in Venice. 

After 1 and 1/2 years she was called to Verona to receive the Holy Habit and 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 and serve Him always as you have up to now.' 

Sr Anna received her vows on 8th December, 1896 and 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 and returned to Schio which was turned into a Military hospital during the 1st World war. Later the doctors diagnosed progressive arthritis and asthmatic bronchitis with cough, caused by the extremely cold weather of Northern Italy. It became chronic and made her chair-ridden, as she could neither stand nor lie down. She died on the 8th of February, 1947, 8.10am and 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, and had a spirit of gentleness, simplicity and courtesy in her Christian life. 

#Edited

Learning about Bakhita shows that the fruit of the spirit would always be celebrated for centuries to come. I want to urge us to give gifts and tell stories that edify and lead to goodness. No one needs to hear horror tales that lead nowhere, or sex escapades that only promote lust, or proud stories of laurels and gold that can lead to lust of the eyes and the pride of life, among other things. We cannot give gifts that can kill or bring dangers to ourselves and those of our loved ones. I still have my pendant of Bakhita and I hope to have it for more years to come, even as I have learnt to also give meaningful gifts.

Tina

For: TLF