From Slavery into Sainthood
What does being a saint mean to you? How can one become a saint? On 8th February 2025, I joined the community of Ayilo II Refugee Settlement at St. Josephine Bakhita Chapel to celebrate the feast of the courageous Saint Bakhita.
Josephine Margaret Bakhita was a Sudanese Catholic religious sister who joined the Canossians after winning her freedom from slavery. She served in Italy for 50 years until her death in 1947. She was canonized in 2000, becoming the first female black Catholic saint in the modern era.
During the homily at Ayilo II Refugee Settlement, Rev. Fr. Victor Awiti, SJ stated that the story of St. Bakhita is sad but there is salvation in it, her journey is one of faith and through her we see how Sainthood is faith. She came from slavery and encountered a life that is dignified.
The refugees in Adjumani Settlement are predominantly from South Sudan. Just as St. Bakhita, they have experienced the pain of forcibly leaving one’s home, losing loved ones and most importantly, losing one’s identity. Once the South Sudanese cross the border of Uganda seeking asylum, their identity changes to ‘refugee’. Similarly, ‘Bakhita’ was not the name that St. Bakhita received from her parents at birth. She was abducted at the age of 8 years and the trauma of her abduction caused her to forget her original name; she was named Bakhita by her slavers, Arabic for ‘lucky’ or ‘fortunate’. The story of St. Bakhita clearly demonstrates how a human can survive the change or demolition of one’s own identity.
Fr. Victor reminded the congregation that St. Bakhita is an important figure for Sudan and South Sudan. He called upon them to pray for peace in Sudan and South Sudan and invoke the intercession of the great saint of Africans, and patron Saint of victims of human trafficking, St. Bakhita. He encouraged the congregation to emulate the life of St. Bakhita; a life lived dignifying one another.
According to Fr. Victor, to be a saint is very easy, one does not need to do very big or complicated things. In fact, by being a Christian, one is already on the way to sainthood. Being a saint is about doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways. I often wondered what the ordinary things maybe in simple terms! And I settled that they should be the ‘works of mercy’, that were taught to me during catechism lessons when I was young, embedded in the hymn ‘What so ever you do to the least of my brother, that you do unto me’. The message in the song is very clear and seem so easy to follow, but what makes the difference is ‘how’ you carry out these works of mercy. Are you doing it with love, dedication and virtue? As Mother Teresa once said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love”.
At the end of the homily, Fr. Victor, SJ urged the parents to instruct their children on the Christian way. An elder at St. Josephine Bakhita Chapel submitted that there was reduced school dropout rates among the girls. He said there is increased discipline among children, all because of the chapel and spiritual activities it offers such as Celebration of the Eucharist, grooming children in the ways of the church i.e., Kizitos, administration of sacraments. JRS continues to nurture the spiritual growth of refugees in Adjumani, which is made possible by generous contribution from Mission Aachen and the Society of Jesus.
Always remember, we are all called to be saints, it is never too late. And most importantly, you don’t have to be dead to be a saint.
