Feb. 8 World Day of Prayer, Reflection and Action against Human Trafficking

Feb. 8 has been designated by the Vatican and the International Union of Superiors General as a World Day of Prayer, Reflection and Action against Human Trafficking.

Feb. 8 is the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, who was kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery in Sudan and Italy. Eventually taught by Canossian nuns that she was created in the image of God and possessed human dignity, she asserted herself and refused to be enslaved. Josephine became a Canossian sister and dedicated her life to sharing her testament of deliverance from slavery and comforting the poor and suffering. She was canonized a saint in 2000.

An international organization of Catholic religious women, Talitha Kum, provides resources on how to commemorate the World Day of Prayer and stop human trafficking. “There have never been as many slaves in the world as there are today,” Gabriella Bottani, the international coordinator of Talitha Kum, reports. “Only together we can break the chain of trafficking and slavery.”