St. Josephine Bakhita

St. Josephine Bakhita was born in the Sudan.  Around the age of 7-9, she was kidnapped by slave traders and sold into slavery.  Because of the trauma of her abduction, she was unable to remember her own name, so the slave traders called her Bakhita, which means "lucky" in Arabic. During the next 12 years she was sold several times and was often treated cruelly.  Finally, she was sold to an Italian Vice-Counsel, who took her with him upon his returned to Italy. Bakhita became the nanny to the daughter of the Vice Counsel's friend.  During a family move, the daughter and nanny were sent to stay at a convent for a time. When the mother came to pick up her daughter and the nanny, Bakhita refused to go. The authorities ruled in Bakhita's favor as slavery was against the law in Italy.  She stayed with the nuns, converted to Catholicism - taking the name Josephine, and eventually joined the order.  Her feast day is February 8.