{"product_id":"saint-josephine-bakhita-sunflower-earrings","title":"Saint Josephine Bakhita Sunflower Earrings","description":"\u003cp\u003ePrayerfully made sunflower stud earrings featuring polymer clay and stainless steel earring post. When you wear these earrings, be reminded of Saint Josephine Bakhita, who continuously turned her soul toward Jesus throughout her life. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e*Coin shown for scale* \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSaint Josephine Bakhita (c. 1869–1947) was born in Olgossa, Sudan. As a young child, she was kidnapped by slave traders. Traumatized by her captivity, she forgot her birth name. Her captors forced upon her the name Bakhita, an Arabic word meaning \"fortunate\" or \"lucky.\" For twelve years, she was bought and sold multiple times, enduring severe physical abuse, beatings, and forced tattooing that left permanent scars on her body.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the late 1880s, an Italian diplomat purchased Bakhita and brought her to Italy. She was temporarily placed in the care of the Canossian Daughters of Charity who taught her the Catholic faith. For the first time in her life, Bakhita learned about the true God and discovered that He was not a cruel master, but a loving Father who gave dignity to every human soul.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen her owner tried to force her to return to Sudan, Bakhita stood firm and refused. An Italian court eventually ruled that slavery had been illegal in Sudan under British rule at the time of her capture, declaring her a free woman. On January 9, 1890, she received the Sacraments of Christian Initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion—taking the name Josephine Margaret Fortunata.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJosephine entered the Canossian Sisters as a novice and took her religious vows in 1896. She spent more than fifty years at a convent in Schio, Italy, where she served faithfully as a cook, sacristan, and portress (door-keeper).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSaint Josephine Bakhita lived with extraordinary Christian charity and forgiveness. Looking back on her life, she bore no hatred toward those who had harmed her, recognizing that her suffering ultimately led her to know Christ and find her vocation. She died on February 8, 1947. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1992 and canonized her in 2000. Her feast day is February 8. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e In sacred art, Saint Josephine Bakhita is associated with the sunflower because its rich spiritual symbolism mirrors her extraordinary journey to sainthood. Despite experiencing immense darkness, trauma, and cruelty during her childhood in Sudan, her life became a living example of turning entirely toward Christ once she encountered His divine love. Before she ever heard the Gospel or knew the name of Jesus, young Bakhita had a deep, intuitive reverence for the beauty of creation. As a little girl, and even during the dark years of her enslavement, she would look up at the sun, the moon, and the stars, filled with wonder at who could have made such beauty. When she learned the truth of the Catholic Faith, she realized that the God she had longed for while looking at the sky was the living God who loved her and sought her freedom. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Via Bethany","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67768133779619,"sku":null,"price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0716\/2105\/0531\/files\/5A6928D1-4F85-4A09-AF77-2FAD0E5261C4.jpg?v=1792784468","url":"https:\/\/viabethany.com\/products\/saint-josephine-bakhita-sunflower-earrings","provider":"Via Bethany","version":"1.0","type":"link"}