Josephine Bakhita
Slave, Convert, Woman Religious

Raised by a loving family; kidnapped at a young age; sold into slavery; converting and becoming a Catholic Nun; sounds like something from a fictional movie.  And yet it is the true story of Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita. 

Bakhita was born in 1869 in Darfur, in western Sudan.  She had a loving family with three brothers and three sisters.  Her uncle was the village chief.  As a young child, sometime between the ages of seven to nine, she was kidnapped by Arab slave traders.  She endured tremendous suffering at the hands of her abductors.  She was sold again and again as a slave.  Torn away from her family, enduring hardships and beatings at the hands of her owners, ironically she was given the name of bakhita, Arabic for ‘lucky’.

 In 1883, she was sold to the Italian Vice Consul, Callisto Legnani.  He was a very kind man. For the first time in her life, she was show kindness by her owners.  When the Vice Consul had to return to Italy two years later, Bakhita begged to be allowed to go with him.  In 1885 they arrived at the Italian port of Genoa and were met by Mrs. Augusto Michieli.  Callisto Legnani gave Bakhita as a present to Mrs. Michieli.  Bakhita lived with the Michieli family for three years becoming a nanny to their daughter.  

The Michieli family decided to move to Sudan.  While they were selling their property and making the arrangements, Bakhita was sent to live temporarily with the Canossian Sister in Venice.  When the family came to take Bakhita to Sudan with them, she refused to return with them.  On November 29, 1889, an Italian court ruled Italian law did not recognize slavery; therefore Bakhita had never legally been a slave.  She had never been on her own before and for the first time was in control of her life.  She chose to remain with the Canossian community.

In 1890, Bakhita was baptized and confirmed by Archbishop Sarto, the future Pope Pius X.  She took the name Josephine. Three years later she entered the Canossian Sisters.   She worked as a cook, sacristan and doorkeeper.  She became known for her gentleness and her smile.   In the last years of her life she was confined to a wheelchair but still maintained her cheerfulness.  She forgave those who sold her into slavery and also those who abused her while she was a slave.   She died on February 8, 1947.  She was declared a saint on October 1, 2000. Pope Benedict XVI relates her life story in the beginning of his encyclical letter, Spe Salvi.

 

 

Martyrs of Atlas
Priest and Brothers
Cistercian "Trappist" monks

The movie “Of Gods and Men”, released in 2010, is a French movie that tells the story of Trappist monks who lived in Algeria.   In 1996, seven Trappist monks were held hostage for two months until they were brutally murdered.  

Algeria had been a French colony for many years. In the 1960’s when the French withdrew from the country, Algeria was thrown into turmoil as different groups attempted to gain power.  During the 1980’s another problem arose.  Algeria was confronted with an extreme form of Islamic fundamentalism which condoned violence against any person or group that opposed it. In Algeria the primary targets were European Christians.  Through all the years of turmoil and instability, the Trappists, as well as other religious groups, had stayed in the country, ministering to the small Christian community as well as helping Muslims.

The Trappists had arrived in Algeria in the 1930’s to witness to God’s love.  They made Christ present to their Muslim neighbors by providing medical care for the people and developing an irrigation system.  Their days were spent in prayer, manual labor, hospitably and sharing whatever they had with the poor.

The relationship between Christians and Muslims were positive until 1991 when the Algerian government canceled elections.  A radical Islamic group formed in the mountain of the country. This group called itself the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). The GIA wanted all foreigners to leave the country and began engaging in terrorist activities. 

On Christmas Eve the GIA came to the monastery and demanded medical and financial help. The abbot, Father Christian refused to help financially but added that anyone who came to the monastery would receive medical help as usual.  The Trappists were threatened by the GIA.  The local police and the apostolic nuncio offered to move the monks to a safer location.  Time and again the monks prayed about moving out of their monastery.  Each time the monks voted to remain even as the conditions in the country grew worse.  They were aware of the risk they were taking by staying unprotected in their monastery.  They wished to stay to witness to their faith and to help the country.

On March 27, 1996, the GIA demanded the Brother Luc, a doctor, come and care for some wounded men.  Brother Luc was 85 and not well.  When Father Christian refused, the guerrillas went through the monastery and captured seven of the monks. Only two monks escaped from being captured.  The GIA sent a message demanding the release of GIA members in prison. They threatened to kill the monks if the demands were not bet. The prisoners were not released, so the GIA made good on its threat.

On May 21 all seven monks were executed.  Their remains were not found until May 30^th at the side of a road.  The remains of the monks were flown by helicopter to the monastery where Muslim neighbors had dug the graces in the monastery cemetery.  The monks gave a witness of love for their neighbors that lives on.

For more information see:

"Heroic Catholics of the Twentieth Century" By Sister Elizabeth Ann Barkett, SJW

New Hope Publications, New Hope, Ky.

or

Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker

ssjw.org

Father Nelson Henry Baker
Priest, Pastor, Founder

Nelson Henry Baker was born in Buffalo, New York in 1842. His Father was Lutheran and his Mother was  Catholic.  He was the second  of four boys. He was baptized a Roman Catholic in 1851 at nine years age. Young Henry worked in a grocery store run by his father. It was there that he learned how to manage a business.

Nelson enlisted as a Union soldier during the Civil War. After he returned home, he started a successful feed and grain business with his friend, Joseph Meyer. He demonstrated a strong interest in religious matters and joined the St. Vincent DePaul Society. After five years, he decided that God was calling him to the priesthood.

He entered the seminary in 1869 at  the age of 28.  While he was studying at the seminary, he was privileged to be able to go on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1874. The pilgrimage stopped in Paris and toured the church of Our Lady of Victories.  This shrine was to inspire Nelson in the years to come and was the beginning of his devotion to Our Lady of Victory.

Nelson Baker was ordained on March 19, 1876 and became known as “Father Baker”. He was given several assignments in the following years.  He was eventually assigned to Lackawanna, NY. This assignment included taking care of  an orphanage, boys protectory and small parish. Under Father Baker’s guidance the existing services grew and expanded.  He also began an industrial school, a home for unwed mothers and infants, and a hospital. He began the “Association of Our Lady of Victory to raise money for his many missions. In thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Father Baker built Our Lady of Victory National Shrine. This Shrine was named as a minor basilica in 1926. He received many civic and church honors.   

Father Baker’s health began to deteriorate during the first part of 1936.  He was alert until July 29 when he slipped into a coma. At 9:20 on July 29^th, he breathed his last while he was being anointed by Father Joseph A. Burke, who was to become the bishop of Buffalo, New York.

During Father Baker’s sixty years as a priest, he performed the corporal and spiritual works of mercy through the many missions he either began or expanded. He gave a home to the homeless, fed the hungry, cared for the sick, loved those who had no one to love them, gave hope to the hopeless, and brought the grace of God into the lives of all he knew.

Father Baker was named Servant of God In 1987.   On January 14, 2011, he was declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI.

Blessed Timothy Trojanowski
Religious Brother

Blessed Timothy was born July 29,1908 in Poland.  He only attended school for three years before having to find work to help support his family. In 1930 he began his life as a Franciscan in the monastery at Niepokalanow, Poland. Brother Timothy worked in the storehouse and in the infirmary, caring for the friars who were sick. He was still at the monastery when World War II began.

Brother Timothy along with four other members of the community were arrested in October 1941.  While in prison, the friars were able to encourage one another and their fellow prisoners.  The little group spent much time in prayer, saying the rosary and singing hymns. In a place where food was scarce, the Brother Timothy and other the members of the Franciscan community shared their food with the other prisoners. In January, 1942,  Brother Timothy was sent to Auschwitz.  He was assigned to hard labor and in just a few months he was worn out with the hard work, hunger, cold and ill-treatment.  He died from Pneumonia on July 28, 1942.

For more information see:
"Heroic Catholics of the Twentieth Century"
by Sister Elizabeth Ann Barkett, SJW
New Hope Publications
New Hope, Ky.

 Or

Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker
www.ssjw.org

Saint Damein de Veuster
Priest, religious, Missionary

Two thousand miles off the coast of California lay the Hawaiian Islands.  In 1778 Captain James Cook was the first European to reach the island.  Unfortunately the native people had no resistance to the diseases Europeans were so familiar with: smallpox, influenza, cholera and tuberculosis.  Leprosy (now called Hansen’s disease), was the most terrifying of the diseases.  It quickly became an epidemic.

By the 1870’s, the king of Hawaii and his government were desperate to stop the spread of the disease.  They ordered anyone with leprosy, regardless of age or gender to be taken to the island of Molokai.  Spouses were separated and children torn from their parents.

Joseph de Veuster was born in Belgium in 1840.  Joseph and his brother Pamphile joined the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts.  When he received the habit of his community, he became known as Brother Damien.  The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts decided to send more missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands. Pamphile was chosen to go.  Shortly before he was ready to leave, Pamphile became ill.  Damien volunteered to take his brother’s place even though he was not year ordained a priest.

The journey took four months. Once in Hawaii, Brother Damien was ordained a priest.  For the next eight years he cared for the people of three districts. He often had to travel on horseback or by canoe to reach his flock.

During this time, the appalling conditions on Molokai were coming to light. The small group of Catholic lepers asked the bishop to send someone to care for the spiritual needs.  Once again, Father Damien stepped forward and volunteered to go to Molokai.

Beginning in 1873 until his death, Father Damien worked on Molokai. When he arrived on the island there was a small chapel but no place for the priest to live. So he took up his residence under a Pandanus tree.

 In a short time, Molokai went from being a place of despair to a place of joy. With the help of the lepers, he enlarged the chapel and built a rectory.  They built coffins, cared for the sick, planted flower gardens, opened a hospital and an orphanage, built roads and organized musical bands.

Leprosy can cause terrible disfigurement and a horrible smell.  Father Damien realized that if he were really going to help the lepers he had to overcome his fear of contagion.  He cleansed the wounds, he ate from the same dishes they ate from, he gave them Holy Communion – in other words, he touched them. 

In December of 1884, Father Damien realized that he had contracted Leprosy.  Now he really did share everything with the lepers, even their disease.   In 1886 Joseph Dutton arrived on Molokai to help. Mother Marianne Cope and her sisters arrived in 1888 to care for the female residents.  Until his strength failed him, Father Damien continued to work.  He died during Holy Week, on April 15, 1889.  He was beatified in 1994 and canonized in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI.

 

For more information see

"Heroic Catholics of the Twentieth Century"

by Sister Elizabeth Ann Barkett, SJWNew Hope Publications, New Hope, Ky

or

 Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker

www.ssjw.org

 

 

Anna Schaffer
Mystic, laywoman

Anna Schäffer was born on February 18, 1882  in Mindelstetten, Bavaria.   Her father died at the age of 40.  Without the income he earned by working as a carpenter, the family became desperately poor. At the age of 14, Anna had to drop out of school and began working as a maid to help the family’s financial situation.  Anna hoped that one day she would be able to enter the convent.  However, even with her income, the family barely could make ends meet. 

Things took a turn for the worse when she was involved in a terrible accident while at work. In 1901, Anna was working in a laundry when she slipped and fell while attempting reattaching a stovepipe that had come loose.  When she fell, her legs went into the washing machine full of boiling hot water. She was taken to the  hospital.  In the early 20th century, there was very little effective treatment for burns. For centuries people with severe burns were bandaged and left to heal on their own. Often they died or were hideously disfigured. Surgeries were sometimes attempted but were not always successful. Up until the late 1930’s, it was thought that a person would probably die if they were severely burned.  

Anna endured more than thirty surgical operations in an attempt to heal her legs. The wounds had to be carefully dressed, which caused much pain. Dr. Waldin, her physician, gave her constant care but the skin grafts did not succeed. Anna became completely immobile and had to give up her dream of entering religious life.  Her mother cared for her until the end of her life.

Despite the terrible pain cause by the burns and the surgeries, Anna never lost her optimism or her faith in God. She had a great love of Christ and a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  She especially had a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In Anna's writings she talked about  three ‘keys’ that helped her draw closer to God.  These ‘keys’ were her suffering, her writing and knitting clothes for her friends. Because of her optimism and her faith she was loved by people in her hometown.  Many would visit and listen to her talk about God. Her brother did not share in her faith.  Eventually after witnessing her cheerful attitude in the midst of suffering, her never failing patience and kindness toward others, he supported her.

Beginning in 1910, mystical phenomena occurred around her. This included the stigmata, which she did her best to conceal from the public . Few people knew that she bore the marks of the passion of Jesus on her body. These phenomena did not change her attitude or make her proud. She remained selfless and patience.  She promised prayers and letters for anyone who asked.

She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1925.  As her condition deteriorated, she lost the ability to speak and write. She died on October 5 after she had received Holy Communion.  

Her grave quickly became a pilgrimage site. Since 1929, more than 15,000 miracles attributed to her intercession have been reported. She was beatified in 1999 by Pope John Paul II and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

 

 

 

 

St Ermino Pampuri
Doctor, Religious Brother

Ermino Pampuri, was born on August 2, 1897 in Trivolzio, Pavia, Italy.  He was one of one of eleven children.  Ermino experienced the pain of losing a loved one very early in his life. When he was three years old, his mother died.  Ermino was sent to live with his aunt in Torrino. When he was 10 years old his father passed away.

 As a young boy Ermino dreamed of becoming a missionary but his health was delicate and he was dissuaded from entering the priesthood.  He completed the normal course of education. After graduation from high school, he enrolled in Medical school at the Pavia University.

While at the university he actively lived his Catholic faith. He was a member of the University’s Severinoe Boesio  Club for Catholic Action,  the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Third Order of St. Francis.  World War I interrupted his studies.  Ermino served as a sergeant and later was trained as an officer in the Medical Corps. In 1921, he graduated top of his class in Medicine and Surgery from Pavia University.

He practiced medicine with an uncle who was also a doctor for three years.  For a short time he worked as an assistant in a medical practice at Vernate. In 1922, he passed his internship with high honors at the Milan Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  He moved to Morimondo to being his own practice.

At Morimondo, he did more than attend to the physical needs of the people.  He assisted the parish priest to set up a band for the youth in the parish.  He also started a Catholic Action Youth Club and was the club’s first president. He served as the secretary of the Parish Missionary Aid Society.

In June of 1927, Dr. Pampuri joined the Brothers hospitallers of St. John of God fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a religious.  Dr. Pampuri wanted to grow in holiness as a religious  and at the same time carry on his medical profession He made  his profession of vows on October, 24, 1928. Now known as Brother Richard, he was appointed director of the dental clinic attached to the St. John of God Brothers' Hospital at Brescia. This dental clinic was used by the working people and the poor in Brescia.   Brother Richard served all who came to the clinic with charity.

When he was serving in the military during World War I, he contracted pleurisy.  A few years after being assigned to working at the dental clinic he suffered from another case of pleurisy which developed into a case of bronco-pneumonia.  Bother Richard died on May 1^st, 1930 at the age of 33. 

During his life he demonstrated great charity and sanctity.  After his death, his reputation spread through Italy, Europe and the world.  He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1981 and canonized in 1989.