Sr. Isabelle Couillard, a Sister of Charity (Grey Nun) of Montreal, awaits Feb. 8, the 12th International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking, with great interest.

The North American representative of Talitha Kum, a worldwide Catholic-based network of nuns dedicated to ending trafficking and exploitation, anticipates Pope Leo XIV will deliver his most substantial comments about this evil scourge since becoming Bishop of Rome last May.

“We are expecting a talk or maybe a letter from Pope Leo to address the situation,” said Couillard.

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This year’s worldwide prayer and call to action livestream is scheduled two days beforehand on Feb. 6, starting at 6 a.m. EST. It is themed “Peace Begins with Dignity: A Global Call to End Human Trafficking,” emanating from the Pope’s call for the faithful to remember that true peace flowers when human dignity is safeguarded.

Feb. 8 is when the Catholic Church spotlights this global issue, the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita, patron saint of human trafficking victims. The Sudanese Catholic religious sister, canonized by Pope John Paul II on Oct. 1, 2000, was abducted by Arab slave traders when she was about eight years old in 1877. During a torturous 960-kilometre barefoot walk to El-Obeid, the capital of Sudan’s North Kordofan state, Bakhita was sold and bought twice more, and upon arrival at her destination, she was purchased three more times over the next 12 years.  

Sr. Nancy Brown, a Sister of Charity and ombudsperson at Covenant House Vancouver, said there are many important lessons to derive from the tribulation Bakhita experienced and how she responded by growing in faith. For one, Brown said that Bakhita, “having a normal, happy family life,” speaks to how any child, no matter the socioeconomic background, could potentially be ensnared by trafficking.

“Right here in our neighbourhood, we have children being taken for prostitution,” said Brown. “The internet has exploded with injustices towards children.”

Additionally, this well-funded criminal enterprise — the second most lucrative in the world behind illegal drugs — flourishes in regions of the world experiencing instability, notably Ukraine and Gaza in recent years.

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A second lesson one could learn from Bakhita is the religious sister’s ability to forgive.

“Her great sense of forgiveness is outstanding,” said Brown. “How she could forgive those who did such terrible things to her — that to me is amazing.”

Couillard also deeply admired Bahkita’s inner strength.

“She was not raised a Christian, but she always felt like the presence of God,” said Bakhita. “There was a higher power or a higher being, and she got the strength to pull through the horror that she endured.”

The International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking is an opportunity for believers around the world to pray for victims to turn to God amid the darkness. Brown expressed her hope that “prayer will move people to action.”

Action could mean making a conscious effort to comprehensively understand the nature of trafficking in the Canadian context, volunteering for awareness initiatives, donating funds to agencies that support survivors, etc.

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For Brown’s part, she continues to advocate for the passage of Senate Bill S-209, an act to set up age verification guardrails on the internet to dissuade younger persons from accessing pornography. She is also participating in prayerful workshops centred on understanding what drives the demand for human trafficking and how to help stimulate a conversion of heart within traffickers.  

Learn how to join in Peace Begins with Dignity: A Global Call to End Human Trafficking by visiting https://preghieracontrotratta.org/partecipate.