Sister Marie-Celine, MICM
Saint Josephine bakhita:
Mission Years
I
n 1933, Bakhita’s superiors, knowing that she had a strong, virtuous and truly humble character, did not hesitate to ask the greatest sacrifice of her. At the age of sixty-four, Bakhita was asked to promote the Canossian missions by traveling all over Italy to tell her story of grace to the other Canossian houses, parishes, churches, and audiences. Ida Zanolini recounts, “When they asked her if she was prepared to accept this job she gave her usual reply, ‘Whatever Paron wants.’ This time her voice quivered and her cheeks were wet with tears, but she smiled.”
Once the news of Bakhita’s involvement in the missions spread, people would flock to see and hear her, sometimes in the thousands. People from varied stations in life including priests and high ranking prelates, officials, teachers and students, families and children, all wanted to make some connection with so special a soul.
Bakhita was always accompanied by another missionary Sister, Mother Leopolda Benetti, who had previously worked in the Chinese missions for thirty-five years. “My task was to help her when she could not express herself properly.” It was at the end of Mother Benetti’s talks on the missions that she would invite Bakhita to share some thoughts with the audiences. “She would thank everyone, greeting them cordially and assuring them of a permanent place in her prayers, adding that she looked forward to seeing them all again in Paradise.”
“Be good, love the Lord, pray for non-believers. Know what a great grace it is to know God!”
Bakhita not only told her story, but would encourage people to pray for missions across the globe especially in Africa. “Oh, if only all the Africans could enjoy the graces that I have had! In Africa people suffer greatly and they do not know that there is a God who can compensate for it all! I, too, suffered greatly without thinking there could be a better life. How different things were when I was able to understand about the spiritual life!”
Throughout her years on mission, Bakhita would greet everyone kindly with a smile, speaking with them, answering their questions, or signing their copy of Tale of Wonder. Her down-toearth, simple manner, sense of humor, and humble spirituality affected all. Even men with the hardest hearts would leave crying after speaking with her. She would end all her talks by encouraging her listeners to “Be good, love the Lord, pray for non-believers. Know what a great grace it is to know God!”
Sharply contrasting the large portion of today’s society, which seeks to be in the spotlight, famous for some talent, discovery, amazing work or story, is the spirit of humility found in Bakhita’s life. In obedience she undertook the mission, but the burden which the overwhelming popularity caused her soul was hidden from the eyes of her audiences. Often between missions Bakhita would be in tears; some Sisters thought she was ill, but soon learned what a cross it was for her, and how hard a time she had trying to retain her spiritual life and converse with God.
Many people will think that I enjoyed going here and there,” Bakhita related, “but in fact it was a martyrdom for me. Wherever I went they loved me, but almost too much; but I feared for my spirit, because being in the midst of all those people was a distraction. If it were a saint that they could have seen, it would have been different. But me, a poor mite, what could I do?”
Although she keenly felt the weight of her present assignment, she saw every situation with clarity and faith, and met it with cheerfulness. When people would remark at her saying, “Poor little thing, poor little thing,” Bakhita would counter it, “But I am not a poor little thing, because I belong to the Paron and I am in His house. Anyone who is not with the Lord, they are the poor ones.” It was to these people that she especially wanted to bring the Faith.
Years after Mission
Following her four years of missionary work, Bakhita resumed her previous task of portress, now at the Canossian Missionary Novitiate house at Vimercate, a city in northern Italy. In the quiet of the convent she lived as a model religious, carefully observing her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Her superiors and Sisters would often remark on her good example and charity, and other sisters would come to her for advice, some of which proved to be prophetic in a number of circumstances. This was especially true after her return to the Schio convent in 1939. During World War II, people would come to her asking her prayers for safety from attacks and air raids. More than once she assured them that their town would not be bombed, and it proved true.
“What she teaches us is that the secret of happiness lies in duty quietly done, that peace is found in forgiveness, and that the only things worthy of our efforts are those that are just, great, and good.”
In 1943, Bakhita, and the whole town with her, had the joy of celebrating her Fiftieth Anniversary of Profession. A local news paper which covered the event, reminded its readers of Bakhita’s hidden, but heroic, life, “What she teaches us is that the secret of happiness lies in duty quietly done, that peace is found in forgiveness, and that the only things worthy of our efforts are those that are just, great, and good.” Her life resembled that of Saint Therese in doing small things extraordinarily well.
As she aged, Bakhita became increasingly weaker and more fragile. Soon she was unable to do much around the convent. She would say, “Now my mission is this: to help everyone by way of prayer.” She had great confidence in Jesus, Mary, the saints, and especially her Guardian Angel, who appeared to her once while she was sacristan, and whom she recognized as the one who had kept her safe from wild animals while escaping the slave traders.
When she began to lose her eyesight, Bakhita had to depend more on other Sisters. Circulatory and respiratory problems caused her much pain, and she soon was confined to bed most of the time. When asked if she was suffering she replied, “Oh, not much! Pray that God will send me the grace to put up patiently with my suffering. You have to be crafty in this world and try to get as many graces as you can!”
Whenever she was up, she had such a hard time walking that the Sisters would wheel her to the chapel where she would spend many hours praying, especially the Rosary. Though people already regarded her as a saint, she never presumed her own holiness. “It’s too easy just to put the dead in Paradise; I’m not so sure…Who knows where He [the Lord] will put me? Pray that He will show me His infinite mercy.
Into Eternity
In December of 1946, Bakhita suffered a severe bout of pneumonia. This time the Sisters did not think she would live, but having received the Sacraments for the Dying, she suffered until February.
Bakhita, ever aware of her approaching death, prepared herself to meet her Master. Sister Fabruzzo recalled, “She looked death in the face with a cheerful soul. At the very end she also said that death carries us to God. To those of us who said rather that God’s judgment is frightening, she replied, ‘Do now what you would wish to do at that moment: judgment is what we do now.’”
Like Our Lord on the Cross, Bakhita, even as she was dying, practiced beautiful detachment. To the superior she said, “Mother, I have nothing except my books: the Rule, the choir manual and the life of Jesus. I do not use them because I can hardly see any more, and I have given up all my other little things. The only thing I have left is my Rosary and the Crucifix; if you want, Mother, you can strip me of these, too.”
On the morning of February 8, 1947 although she was in a great deal of pain and discomfort, Bakhita, alert to the end, joyfully received Holy Viaticum, the Last Sacraments and renewed her vows. Sister Antonietta stated that Bakhita had “a special devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary….when she was near death she told me, ‘I am fortunate, and the Lord loves me, for I entered the congregation on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and it is only a few days now until the feast of our Lady’s apparition at Lourdes.”
Another Sister who was present when she was dying relates, “She kept making ejaculatory prayer, made the brief renewal of her vows, and when I let her know it was Saturday, the day dedicated to Our Lady, Mother Giuseppina exclaimed joyfully, ‘Oh, how happy I am…Our Lady…Our Lady…!’ These were her last intelligible words.”
After a life of service to God and others, filled with suffering and joy alike, Bakita on the evening of February 8th, 1947, at the age of seventyeight, breathed her last and slipped quietly into eternity and the blessed vision of her Paron.
Following her death there were many miracles and manifestations of graces received. People came from all over to venerate “their saint,” and to beg her intercession. When her cause was opened, many accounts came in from people who lived with her, knew or met her. On May 17,1992, Bakhita was beatified by Pope John Paul II. Only eight years later she was raised to the honor of the altars and canonized on October 1, 2000. Her feastday is celebrated on February 8.
What mystery and wisdom there was in God’s plan of bringing a single soul from the darkness of slavery to shine as a light in a spiritually dark world. She was a soul who very well could have risen up in revolt, spending her life bemoaning her mistreatment, hating those who hurt her and inciting similar feelings in the hearts of others, but she did not. When asked what she would do if she ever met the slave traders again she replied with deep gratitude, “I’d kneel down and kiss their hands because if it was not for them I would not be a Christian now or a religious.”
God became the true Master of her soul and in Him she found the greatest freedom.
The story of Bakhita reveals how each soul is infinitely loved by God, and how even the smallest things, if done for Him, are of the greatest worth and how gratitude and selflessness lead to happiness beyond worldly pleasure. As in her lifetime, she still inspires souls to pray and work not only for the world’s freedom from physical slavery and violence, but from the slavery of sin and attachment to it. Her life continues to be a mission and a message of hope, not only to her beloved African people, but to anyone who seeks the freedom, peace, and forgiveness which only Christ can give and inspire.
Saint Josephine Bakhita, pray for us!
Saint Josephine
Bakhita, pray for us!