*_February 8th ~ St Josephine Bakhita, Virgin and religious; Memorial_* *_Patron Saint of Sudan and Victims of Human trafficking_* In 1869, a daughter was born into a loving and well-respected family in western Sudan. Abducted by Arab slave traders at the age of eight, the young girl was sarcastically given the name “Bakhita,” meaning “fortunate,” by her captor. Bakhita was forced to travel hundreds of miles on foot to the city of El-Obeid, during which she was sold several times. Sold multiple times over the next five years, she was beaten and forced to convert to Islam. One beating left her nearly unable to move for more than a month. She often was bound firmly with chains to prevent her escape, a painful memory that she would carry to her deathbed. She was customarily subjected to having her breasts, belly, and arm scarred with a sharp razor, after which salt was ground into the wounds, causing permanent scarring and identifying her as property.