Josephine Bakhita
1869 — 1947 · Feast day: February 8
Kidnapped into slavery at age seven in Sudan and sold four times over twelve years, she endured brutal abuse before an Italian consul brought her to Italy in 1885. There she discovered Christianity with the Canossian Sisters, won her legal freedom in court, and was baptized in 1890. She professed vows in 1896 and spent the rest of her life as a gentle doorkeeper in Schio, forgiving her captors so fully she said she would kneel to kiss their hands.