Let us pray:
Saint Josephine Bakhita, you were sold into slavery as a child
and endured unspeakable hardship and suffering.
Once liberated from your physical enslavement,
you found true redemption in your encounter with Christ and his Church.
O Saint Josephine Bakhita, assist all those who are entrapped in slavery;
Intercede on their behalf with the God of Mercy
so that the chains of their captivity will be broken.
May God himself free all those who have been threatened,
wounded or mistreated by the trade and trafficking of human beings.
Bring comfort to survivors of this slavery and teach them
to look to Jesus as an example of hope and faith
so that they may find healing from their wounds.
We ask you to pray for us and to intercede on behalf of us all:
that we may not fall into indifference,
that we may open our eyes and be able to see the misery
and wounds of our many brothers and sisters
deprived of their dignity and their freedom,
and may we hear their cry for help.
Amen.