Catholics pray for victims of human trafficking

February 08, 2013 - The bishops of England and Wales invited their faithful to pray for all victims of human trafficking on Friday, the Feast of Sudanese slave girl, Saint Josephine Bakhita. In the run-up to the Feb. 8th initiative, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) noted that human trafficking today ranks as the second most profitable worldwide criminal enterprise after the illegal arms trade. They said that the practical response of the Church and its charities, led mainly by women religious, was to raise awareness and to provide help and support for the most vulnerable victims. St Josephine Bakhita was kidnapped and sold into slavery at the age of nine. She suffered terribly at the hands of her kidnappers, so much so that she forgot her birth name. Her kidnappers gave her the name ‘Bakhita’ which means ‘Fortunate’. At the age of 35 she was bought by the Italian Consul and was eventually brought to Italy where she was entrusted to the care of the Canossian Sisters in Venice. It was there that she came to know and experience God’s love. She became a Catholic in 1890 and joined Canossian Sister in 1896. For the next fifty years she led a life of simplicity, prayer and service (especially as the doorkeeper in the convent,) always showing kindness to everyone especially the children in the street. She died in 1947 and was canonized on Oct. 1, 2000.