Novena To Saint Josephine Bakhita

[The Novena is to be prayed on 9 consecutive days.]

DAY 1

Dear Saint Josephine,
you were taken from your family at an early age
and lost your entire identity.
We pray for all those children
who have been abducted
and for their parents and families
who suffer not knowing what has become of them.
May they be comforted,
and may they one day be reunited.
We pray especially for

[Mention your intention here...]

Say 1 Our Father...

Say 1 Hail Mary...

Say 1 Glory Be...

DAY 2

Dear Saint Josephine,
you knew what it was to be a slave,
to have no rights,
to have lost even your name.
We pray for the victims of people traffickers
and all those in any kind of slavery.
May this evil be wiped out from our world.
We pray especially for

[Mention your intention here...]

Say 1 Our Father...

Say 1 Hail Mary...

Say 1 Glory Be...

DAY 3

Dear Saint Josephine,
one of your ‘owners’ had your whole body scarred.
You knew this terrible pain.
We pray for all victims of torture.
Help them to heal in body, mind and spirit.
May all governments abandon this practice.
We pray especially for

[Mention your intention here...]

Say 1 Our Father...

Say 1 Hail Mary...

Say 1 Glory Be...
 

DAY 4

Dear Saint Josephine,
even in the terrible suffering of your life,
you saw beauty in the world
and believed there must be God because of that beauty.
May we too have something of your love
for beauty and the natural world.
We pray especially for

[Mention your intention here...]

Say 1 Our Father...

Say 1 Hail Mary...

Say 1 Glory Be...

DAY 5

Dear Saint Josephine,
when the family which had rescued you
wanted you to leave the Canossians,
you had the courage to refuse,
even though you were truly grateful to them.
Help us to put God’s will above all things,
even above our natural affections.
We pray especially for

[Mention your intention here...]

Say 1 Our Father...

Say 1 Hail Mary...

Say 1 Glory Be...

DAY 6

Dear Saint Josephine,
you were so grateful to know God
and to be part of his Church
that you often kissed the baptismal font.
May we never take for granted
the faith we have been offered
and give us something of your humility
and gratitude for all God does.
We pray especially for

[Mention your intention here...]

Say 1 Our Father...

Say 1 Hail Mary...

Say 1 Glory Be...

DAY 7

Dear Saint Josephine,
your sufferings gave you a great compassion for others
and you were constantly smiling
and always open to those who came to you,
no matter how inconvenient it was.
Saint Josephine,
may we have something of your sweetness and openness,
something of your joy.
We pray especially for

[Mention your intention here...]

Say 1 Our Father...

Say 1 Hail Mary...

Say 1 Glory Be...

DAY 8

Dear Saint Josephine,
in your last painful illness you relived your slavery,
begging the nurse to loosen your chains.
We pray for all those who are weighed down by pain,
and we ask that we too may enter the sufferings
of our lives in faith and knowledge
that God has not abandoned us.
We pray especially for

[Mention your intention here...]

Say 1 Our Father...

Say 1 Hail Mary...

Say 1 Glory Be...

DAY 9

Dear Saint Josephine,
your last words were “Our Lady, Our Lady”.
May we too know the comfort of the Mother of God,
now and at the hour of our death.
We pray especially for

[Mention your intention here...]

Say 1 Our Father...

Say 1 Hail Mary...

Say 1 Glory Be...