Brave and Free · Week 2 · Grades 6–8
Guided Notes: St. Josephine Bakhita
- Name
- Date
- Class
Follow along as your teacher presents. Fill in each section when its slide is on the screen.
St. Josephine Bakhita
A stolen childhood
Bakhita was born around 1869 in a village in blank 1, in western Sudan. Her family was loving and respected.
When she was a young child, slave traders kidnapped her. The shock was so great that she forgot the name her parents had given her. Her captors called her Bakhita, blank 2 for “fortunate.”
Over about twelve years she was sold several times in the markets of El Obeid and blank 3. Some of the people who held her were cruel, and she carried scars for the rest of her life.
Through all of it she kept looking at the sun, the moon and the stars, and wondered who their master was.
Bakhita’s life
Write what happened at each point.
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| c. 1869 | Write your answer |
| c. 1877 | Write your answer |
| 1883 | Write your answer |
| 1885 | Write your answer |
| 1889 | Write your answer |
| 1890 | Write your answer |
| 1896 | Write your answer |
| 1947 | Write your answer |
Check the facts
Why was she called Bakhita? Circle one.
- A Her parents chose it when she was born
- B Her captors gave it after she forgot her name
- C The Canossian Sisters gave it at her vows
- D The people of Schio made it her nickname
Why is that the right answer?
The day she said no
In blank 4 the Italian consul Callisto Legnani bought Bakhita in Khartoum. He did not mistreat her. When war forced him to leave Sudan, she asked to go with him.
In Italy she was given to the Michieli family and cared for their daughter, Mimmina. Bakhita and the child stayed with the blank 5 Sisters in Venice, where she learned about the Christian faith.
When Mrs. Michieli came to take them back to Africa, Bakhita refused to go. The case went to court. On November 29, 1889, the court ruled that Italian law did not recognize blank 6. She was free.
She chose blank 7, then religious life in Schio.
Why did the court free her?
What was the reason for the court’s 1889 decision? Circle one.
- A The Michieli family agreed to let her go
- B The Canossian Sisters paid a fee for her
- C She had already become a religious sister
- D Italian law did not recognize slavery
Why is that the right answer?
Person or product?
Slavery treats a person like a product. Sort each online choice: does it honor a person or use a person? Check one box for each.
| Item | Honors the person | Uses the person |
|---|---|---|
| Asking a friend before posting a photo of them | ||
| Sharing an embarrassing clip of someone to get likes | ||
| Reporting an account made to mock a classmate | ||
| Ranking classmates by looks in a group chat | ||
| Using AI to make a fake picture of a real person | ||
| Messaging someone who was left out of the chat | ||
| Following people only to raise your own numbers | ||
| Using a teammate’s name, not an insult, in a game |
Virtues Bakhita lived
For each virtue, write how the saint lived it.
| Virtue | How the saint lived it |
|---|---|
| Hope | Write your answer |
| Courage | Write your answer |
| Forgiveness | Write your answer |
Bakhita today
The Church prays about which issue on her feast day, February 8? Circle one.
- A Clean water for Africa
- B Schools for young girls
- C Human trafficking
- D Peace between nations
Why is that the right answer?
Think, pair, share
Bakhita’s captors took her name and treated her as property. Online, people can become usernames, numbers or content. What helps you remember that there is a real person behind every screen?
Think: my idea before we talk
Sentence starters: “It is easy to forget someone is real online when ...”“One thing that helps me remember is ...”“Bakhita’s story changes how I see ...”“Dignity means that even online ...”
Pair: something my partner said
Let us pray
God our Father, you created every person in your image.
Free all who are not free today, and heal those who have been hurt.
Teach us to see a person, never a thing, in everyone we meet and message.
St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us.
Amen.
My own prayer or intention:
Well done!
Pope John Paul II canonized Josephine Bakhita on October 1, 2000. She is a patron saint of Sudan and of survivors of human trafficking.
One thing I learned today:
One question I still have:
How could the example of St. Josephine Bakhita shape the way I live, online and offline?
Challenge: Before you post, comment or forward anything this week, ask one question: does this treat a person as a person?