Feast Day of St. Josephine Bakhita

Picture courtesy of Jane Ellen Official Site

St. Josephine Bakhita please pray for the people of the Sudan.

The following is also from that site:

Bakhita: African Flower (1869-1947)

Bakhita (Arabic for "fortunate one") was only a young child in the Sudan when she was kidnapped, imprisoned, and sold into slavery. The winds of change blew her first into freedom, and then into religious communal life with the Canossian Daughters of Charity in northern Italy. Despite the horrific cruelty and torture to which she had been subjected, Bakhita never condemned those who treated her badly. She continually praised the circumstances of her life which led her to her religious vocation. Serving as a missionary, she often closed her talks with the following words:

"Be good, love the Lord, pray for those who do not know him. What a great grace it is to know God!"

Bakhita was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 17 May 1992. Eight years later she was canonised on 1 October 2000, at the Basilica of San Pietro in Rome, a Saint of the Jubilee Year. Her memorial is celebrated annually on 8 February.