logo english transparent 500px
  • About US
    • Who we are
    • Our Spirituality
    • History
      • Cardinal Lavigerie
      • Mother Marie Salomé
      • Our Lady of Africa
      • Our first sisters
    • Past & Present
      • Our Lady of Africa family
      • General Chapter
      • 150th Anniversary
    • Contacts
  • Mission
    • Women with women
    • Education
    • Pastoral work
    • Justice & Peace
    • Health & social work
    • Our Apostolic Orientations
      • Interreligious and Intercultural Encounter -Dialogue
      • Migration, refugees, and internally displaced persons
      • Modern slavery and human trafficking
      • Care of the environment
    • Our Projects
  • Vocation
    • Missionary vocation
    • Join us
    • Stages of formation
    • Forms of belonging
  • Agenda
  • Resources
    • Extraordinary life stories
    • Prayers
    • Library
    • Jubilarians
    • Entered into eternal life
    • Links
  • French
Menu
  • About US
    • Who we are
    • Our Spirituality
    • History
      • Cardinal Lavigerie
      • Mother Marie Salomé
      • Our Lady of Africa
      • Our first sisters
    • Past & Present
      • Our Lady of Africa family
      • General Chapter
      • 150th Anniversary
    • Contacts
  • Mission
    • Women with women
    • Education
    • Pastoral work
    • Justice & Peace
    • Health & social work
    • Our Apostolic Orientations
      • Interreligious and Intercultural Encounter -Dialogue
      • Migration, refugees, and internally displaced persons
      • Modern slavery and human trafficking
      • Care of the environment
    • Our Projects
  • Vocation
    • Missionary vocation
    • Join us
    • Stages of formation
    • Forms of belonging
  • Agenda
  • Resources
    • Extraordinary life stories
    • Prayers
    • Library
    • Jubilarians
    • Entered into eternal life
    • Links
  • French
Search
Close
Youtube

Celebration of St Bakhita in Madrid 2023

 

The Vigil of St Bakhita in Madrid organized by the Diocesan Commission against Human Trafficking of which Begoña Iñarra is the coordinator, is celebrated every year in a different parish, to create awareness in the different parts of the town about human trafficking.

This year it was celebrated in St Cayetano parish, in the heart of the traditional and well-known Rastro (flea market) district of Madrid. There were about 100 people and many people all over Spain and Latin America followed the video in streaming.

The members of the Human trafficking commission animated the vigil written by one of the members. The social vicar of Madrid Archdiocese introduced the vigil that was very symbolic.

A beautiful image of Ste Bakhita was before the altar. Four people put up five posters with the words “Freedom” “Dignity”, “Caring Paths”, “Inclusion” and “Empowerment”, at St. Bakhita’s feet.
All along the prayer, we made a representation to help us better visualise and become aware of what “binds” the victims of trafficking, what are the chains that prevent them from living in freedom.

 

In the first stage: EYES OPEN, we met the victims and their perpetrators.

A woman and a man put themselves in the “skin” of the victims, while three men and a woman represented the perpetrators. These ones tied strongly around the victims a big belt from where they hung different ribbons that had written in big letters: War, Violence, Poverty, Rape, Environmental crisis and Economic crisis. The perpetrators were holding the victims by these ribbons, while they walked or remained standing from the entrance of the Church to the altar, stopping while the assembly prayed, listened to God’s word and sung. A big candle was lit at the feet of Ste Bakhita.

While the group came slowly walking from the door to the middle of the Church, the assembly listened to the readings, prayed, kept silence and sung. We let ourselves be provoked, engaged, touched by their lives. We placed them in the presence of God and we prayed for the healing of the victims and the conversion of the perpetrators, asking God to accompany their processes.

 

In the 2nd stage: ATTENTIVE HEART to discover the daily paths of thousands of people in search of freedom and dignity, paths of care, inclusion and empowerment.

Four people took the posters next to the image of St. Josephine Bakhita with the words “Freedom and Dignity”, “Caring Paths”, “Inclusion” and “Empowerment” and went to meet the group of victims and perpetrators and accompanied them towards the altar. The 2nd candle was lighted at the foot of the image of St. Bakhita. The assembly prayed for the men and women in the Church who want to discover the paths of our brothers and sisters who are caught in the chains of war, violence, poverty, rape, environmental climate and economic crises, and seek freedom and dignity, ways of care, inclusion and empowerment, listened to God’s Word, kept a prayerful silence and sung.

3rd stage: GUIDING US to promote anti-trafficking actions that make us rediscover dignity, awaken joy and liberate hope, letting ourselves be inspired by the youth, their creativity and spiritual strength.

Some people from the assembly went towards the group of victims and perpetrators to untie the ribbons which oppress them as victims of trafficking. At the same time those carrying the words “freedom and dignity”, “pathways of care”, “inclusion” and “empowerment” lift them up and when all the ribbons are untied, they put them back at St. Bakhita’s feet in front of the altar. A pair of sandals is brought to the altar as a symbol of our walking with integrity in total respect for the unshakeable dignity of the human being and the love of God. After the reading of the Word of God, the assembly asks the God of tenderness to teach us to welcome the pain of so many victims and to accompany the healing processes of the survivors.

 

Stage 4: JOIN HANDS walking together to build a culture of encounter that leads to the conversion of inclusive hearts and societies, capable of unmasking stereotypes and protecting the rights of every person.

On the altar are all the people who represent survivors of trafficking, the perpetrators, those who help to untie what oppresses and those who represent “freedom and dignity”, “pathways of care”, “inclusion” and “empowerment”. They and all the assembly join hands and form a circle around the altar. The image of Ste Bakhita with the symbols and the candles lit are at the centre of the circle, where the symbol of this 4th stage, the GOSPEL is brought in and placed at the feet of St. Bakhita. This shows our commitment to let ourselves be enlightened by the power of the Word. At the end of the vigil St. Bakhita’s song accompanies our greetings and embraces as we bid each other farewell.

Sr Begoña Iñarra, MSOLA

 

  • February 22, 2023
  • 10:31 am
  • Actualities, Justice and Peace, Modern Slavery
  • Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, MSOLA, White Sisters
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
RELATED POSTS
Preparation for confirmation
March 25, 2023
I have been very blessed in my life
March 23, 2023
Towards Integral Ecology
March 16, 2023
Be a witness to Christ in a broken world
March 14, 2023
A Fruitful Visitation
March 11, 2023
Being women with women
March 6, 2023
Copyright 2022 - All rights reserved
Privacy Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Facebook