February 8th Feast Day of St. Josephine Bakhita

World Day of Prayer, Reflection and Action

Against Human Trafficking

With encouragement from Pope Francis, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the International Union of Superiors General designated February 8th as an annual day of prayer, reflection, and action against human trafficking. On this day, we remember and pray for survivors and victims of modern-day slavery. We pray that we may work together to remove the causes of this disgraceful scourge that is present in all our cities and neighborhoods. This day is also one of awareness and action: our prayers are strengthened three-fold when we accompany them with a willingness to become aware of the problem and become involved in erasing this evil.

February 8th is also the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita. Born in the Darfur region of Sudan in 1869, St. Bakhita was kidnapped and enslaved as a child. Eventually she was sold to an Italian diplomat and taken to Italy, where she valiantly asserted her freedom with the help of the Cannossian Sisters of Venice. 

Through her faith, St. Bakhita realized the promise of liberty inherent in the human spirit. She lived out the rest of her life as a Cannossian sister, sharing her empowering testimony of human freedom and dignity. In 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized Josephine Bakhita, noting that in this saint, “we find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation.”

Human Trafficking Awareness

● As Catholics, we believe in the dignity of every human life and vehemently oppose human trafficking and modern-day slavery as it contravenes basic human dignity.

● As Pope Francis has stated: “Human trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ.”

● There are an estimated 40.3 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. Every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, including the United States.

● Human trafficking is connected to other issues of systemic oppression such as racism, endemic poverty, sexism, xenophobia, exploitative economic systems, and environmental degradation.

● Migrants and refugees are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking. Thousands of individuals are trafficked across U.S. borders and forced into slavery each year.

● Although sex trafficking remains a serious problem, foreign victims are more often found in situations of labor trafficking. In fact, two of the largest trafficking cases in the United States involved labor trafficking in Guam and New York.

● In addition to working to eradicate human trafficking, our nation should ensure that victims have the services and support they need to heal, find affordable housing, earn a living wage, and obtain self-sufficiency.

February 8th       We pray for the young adult recruited for a job that requires 

                            her/him to move far away.

How can you be more aware and act to bring this

Modern Day Slavery to an end?