St. Josephine Bakhita Medallion Tote Bag (Black)

These custom made-on-demand Tote Bags ship world-wide directly from our exceptional craftsmen in China. When placing your order, please use a physical street address for DHL Express delivery. DHL Express can not deliver to a PO Box. Destination tracking is available for most countries. A tracking number will be emailed to you once your order has shipped.

Production Time: 5-7 working days
DHL Express Ship Time: 3-6 days

Please Note: During peak shopping seasons, production and ship time may take a little longer than normal. If you are buying this item as a gift, please order as early as possible. We don't want to disappoint you or the gift recipient with a potentially delayed order.

For countries where tracking numbers are not available, this item should arrive by regular post within 2-4 weeks. Orders that have not arrived within 45 days of order processing are eligible for a free reshipment or a refund.

MATERIALS 
These Tote Bags are made with a high quality, textured imitation leather with a Safiano Finish created by the luxury designer brand Prada. This material is made with split leather (that’s the fibrous part of the hide left over from making genuine leather) which has been bonded with polyurethane. This material is extremely durable and the image will not fade, peel or flake. The interior lining is a soft, brushed polyester. These Tote Bags are vegan and eco friendly.

CARE
Your freshly made bag might arrive with a "new bag smell" (similar to a new car smell) that some people love and others do not. When you receive your bag, please unwrap it and allow the bag breathe for 24-48 hours to absorb the natural scents of its surroundings. To clean your tote bag, use a soft, damp towel to wipe away any dust or dirt. You can use a mild soap or gentle cleaning spray if needed. Please do not put this tote bag in the washing machine.

ST. JOSEPHINE BAKHITA

1869 — 1947
Feast Day February 8
Patron Saint of Sudan, victims of human trafficking and slavery.

Josephine was born in a small village in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was kidnapped at age 7 while working in the fields with her family and was sold into slavery. Her captors asked for her name but she was too terrified to remember so they named her “Bakhita,” which means “fortunate” in Arabic.

Retrospectively, Bakhita was very fortunate, but the first years of her life do not necessarily attest to it. She was tortured by her various owners who branded her, beat and cut her. In her biography she notes one particularly terrifying moment when one of her masters cut her 114 times and poured salt in her wounds to ensure that the scars remained.

She bore her suffering valiantly even though she did not know Christ or the redemptive nature of suffering. She also had a certain awe for the world and its creator. Bakhita wrote, “Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself: 'Who could be the Master of these beautiful things?' And I felt a great desire to see Him, to know Him and to pay Him homage.”

After being sold a total of five times, Bakhita was purchased by Callisto Legnani, the Italian consul in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Two years later, he took Bakhita to Italy to work as a nanny for his colleague, Augusto Michieli. He, in turn, sent Bakhita to accompany his daughter to a school in Venice run by the Canossian Sisters.

Bakhita felt called to learn more about the Church, and was baptized with the name “Josephine Margaret.” In the meantime, Michieli wanted to take Josephine and his daughter back to Sudan, but Josephine refused to return.

The disagreement escalated and was taken to the Italian courts where it was ruled that Josephine could stay in Italy because she was a free woman. Slavery was not recognized in Italy and it had also been illegal in Sudan since before Josephine had been born.

Josephine remained in Italy and entered the Institute of St. Magdalene of Canossa in 1893 and made her profession three years later. In 1902, she was transferred to the city of Schio (northeast of Verona), where she assisted her religious community through cooking, sewing, embroidery, and welcoming visitors at the door. She soon became well loved by the children attending the sisters’ school and the local citizens.

She was known for her smile, gentleness and holiness. She even went on record saying, “If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today.”

Josephine died at the age of 78 and is the first person to be canonized from Sudan.