Hello and welcome to St. St. Stories for Kids, a weekly podcast full of fun stories and

facts about the holy men and women that have come before us.

I'm your host Shanao Varos.

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Today we'll be telling the story of St. Josephine Paquita, whose feast is celebrated on February 8th.

Josephine was born in 1869 in the village of Olcosa in what is now Sudan.

Josephine's parents were successful and well-respected members of their community,

and she had six siblings, three brothers and three sisters.

Her life was happy and carefree.

Until tragically at the age of around 7, she was kidnapped by slave traders, never to see her family again.

The trauma of her abduction and consequence slavery caused her to forget her birth name,

and instead she became known by the name given to her by the slave traders,

Paquita, which is Arabic for lucky.

Between the ages of 7 and 20,

Josephine was sold three times as a slave and then given away before finally gaining her freedom.

During those years of slavery, Josephine endured physical, mental, and spiritual abuse.

Her last owners were an Italian family that spent time in both Italy and the Sudan.

After living in Italy for several years, the family decided to move to the Sudan permanently.

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