by Administrator on December 23, 2009
Saint Josephine Bakhita was born in 1896 in Olgossa, a town located in Darfur. She had a great childhood because her father was the leader of her tribe there. However at age nine, she was taken by invading Arabs.
Saint Josephine Bakhita was beaten and went through so much suffering that she forgot her own true name. Josephine Bakhita was sold into slavery. She had symbols carved into her skin by her owner to show that she belonged to him. One time she was hurt so badly by one of her owners’ sons, that she spent a several weeks in bed.
Saint Josephine Bakhita was sold to another owner at this point in her life. This owner was a man named Augusto Michieli. She liked her life with him much more than her previous owner. She served Augusto, but mainly tended to his children. When Augusto and his family had to leave the country on business, Josephine was left with the Canossian Sisters.
Upon the Michieli’s return, they attempted to take back their servants. Josephine put up a fight though, and eventually got a court ruling saying she was not bound to the family. Slavery had been abolished in Italy before her birth, so she was given her freedom. Josephine chose to stay with the Canossian Sisters in Venice.
Saint Josephine would officially join the Canossian Sisters in 1896. Josephine mainly stayed in her new home provided by the sisters in Schio. However she did leave once to go to Africa and help sisters there. Saint Josephine was the door keeper at the house in Schio and was known for her kind spirits and gentle voice there.
Towards the end of her life, Saint Josephine Bakhita would get extremely ill. Her illnesses would sometimes cause flashbacks of her days as a slave. This caused her much anguish and was hard for many to see her deal with. On February 8, 1947 Saint Josephine Bakhita passed away. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 1, 2000, and her feast day is on February 8th each year.
by Administrator on December 22, 2009
Saint Joseph Freinademetz was born on April 15, 1852 in a town called Badia. This town was located in what was then known as Austria, today it can be located in Italy. His parents’ names were Anna Maria and Giovanmattia, and their marriage brought them four children. The two raised their four children like typical parents of their time. On July 25, 1875 Saint Joseph Freinademetz was ordained. This was after years of studying theology.
Saint Joseph Freinademetz began his life as a priest in San Martino. He enjoyed his time there and was a good priest. Joseph always thought about being a missionary though. After contacting Saint Arnold Janssen, he would travel to Steyl and do just that.
Some of Saint Jospeh’s most important work came while he was in Hong Kong. Joseph traveled to Hong Kong with John Baptist Anzer, and the two remained there for two years. Their job was to try and make more Christians out of the Chinese because very few of them were Christians at the time.
Saint Joseph rewrote religious books in Chinese and taught the Chinese who were interested in learning of Christianity. Saint Joseph got sick with tuberculosis at this point, and was forced to travel to Japan to receive proper care. He would return to take over the lead position of the operation in China.
There was an outbreak of typhus in this time, and he helped wherever he could, until he himself became infected. He returned to Taikia, South Shandong, where he died. He was buried in Taikia, at the twelfth station on the Way of the Cross.
After a few years of successful work in China, a wave of typhus swept the lands. Saint Joseph helped out anybody who needed it during these times. However, his contact with those who were infected, caused him to become ill. On January 28, 1908 Saint Joseph Freinademetz would pass away due to his sickness. Saint Jospeh was canonized on October 5, 2003. His feast day falls on January 28th each year.
