Today, February 8, the Oblate Sisters of the Most Holy Redeemer commemorate the World Day of Prayer against Trafficking: “Walking for Dignity” throughout their network, spread across 15 countries.
“Walking for dignity. Listen, Dream, Act”. This is the theme of the tenth World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Trafficking, which is celebrated on 8 February, a day established in 2015 by Pope Francis on the occasion of the feast of Saint Josephine Bakhita, the Sudanese nun who was a victim of trafficking and a universal symbol of the Church’s commitment against this plague. At last Sunday’s Angelus, the Holy Father invited us to unite “to fight against the dramatic global phenomenon”.
“This is the day in which we must walk for dignity”, is the invitation of the Talitha Kum International Network (in which the Oblates of the Most Holy Redeemer participate), to the World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Trafficking, which is celebrated on February 8, in memory of Saint Josephine Bakhita, the Sudanese nun who was a slave.
As a good example of this celebration, in recent years we have received echoes of this important day, the liturgical memory of Santa Josefina Bakhita, patron saint of victims of trafficking: From the Dominican Republic, from the José María Benito Serra Province, they tell us how it is celebrated to the Centro Nuestra Esperanza Foundation.
We experienced another example in Seville in 2023: a day of training on Saint Josephine Bakhita, where we share the most important aspects of the Saint’s life with the women participating in the “Creating Alternatives” training course. We delve into her childhood and youth, marked by the exploitation to which she was subjected and how, through a process of resilience and empowerment, she managed to get out of this situation and realize her dreams and goals. In the “Al alba” Project we continue to walk and weave life with threads of hope.
(hermanasoblatas.org/Scala News)
Online Pilgrimage of Prayer and Awareness against human trafficking “Journeying in Dignity”
