All across our nation, in classrooms, courthouses, public squares and the media, the month of February is celebrated as Black History Month.

During the month we honor such figures and events as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson and the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which ended racial segregation in public schools.

To celebrate Black History Month, this month’s column and blogs will be dedicated to profiling saints with African ancestry.

St. Josephine Bakhita

Born in 1869 in the Darfur region of the Sudan, she was kidnapped at the
age of 7 and sold into slavery. She was given the name Bakhita, which means fortunate, by the slave traders. She was resold five times, and in 1883 was bought by the Italian consul in Sudan, Callisto Legnani, who took her to Italy and gave her to his friend, Augusto Michieli.

Bakhita became the babysitter for Michieli’s daughter and went with her to Venice’s Institute of the Catechumens, run by the Canossian Sisters. It was here that Bakhita learned about the faith and was baptized and confirmed in 1890.

After being given her freedom, Bakhita entered formation to become a Canossian Sister and professed final vows in 1896. In 1902, she was assigned to the sisters’ house in Schio, Italy, where she lived most of the rest of her life as the portress of the house. She died in 1947 and was canonized in 2000. Her feast day is Feb. 8.

St. Augustine of Hippo

Born in 354 in what is now known as Souk-Ahras, Algeria, in northern Africa, Augustine was extremely intelligent. Although he received his education through Christian schooling, he explored and became a disciple of other philosophies.

During that time he lived a very hedonistic lifestyle. But through the prayers of his mother, St. Monica, and the preaching of St. Ambrose, Augustine was finally convinced that Christianity was the one true religion. He was baptized at Easter in 387, ordained a priest in 391 and named coadjutor to the bishop of Hippo in 396.

St. Augustine’s writings, teachings and preachings are vast. One of his more famous writings is "The Confessions." Because his work brought great benefit, learning and sanctity to the whole church, he was named in 1298 as one of the four original doctors of the church. St. Augustine died in 430, and his feast day is Aug. 28.

St. Benedict the Moor

He was born in 1526. His parents were Ethiopian, but they were taken to Sicily as slaves and later converted to Christianity. When Benedict was 18, his parents were given their freedom because of their loyal service. He stayed with his family until 1547 when he gave up all his possessions and joined a hermitage in Montepellegrino, Italy.

In 1564, he became a Franciscan friar in Palermo. He served the friary as cook, guardian and novice master. He was respected for his understanding of theology and Scripture, despite not being able to read. St. Benedict died in 1589. He was canonized in 1807. His feast day is April 4.

St. Peter Claver

He was born in 1581 near Barcelona, Spain. He graduated at age 20 from the University of Barcelona and entered the Jesuit novitiate. At the novitiate, he met the gatekeeper, St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, who encouraged Peter to join the missions.

He was sent to Cartagena, Columbia, where the Spanish were bringing African slaves to work in the mines. Because of their mistreatment, many of the slaves died in transport from Africa. St. Peter made it his mission to be the slave to the slaves.

He was ordained in 1615 and cared for the slaves in the ships’ holds, hospitals and in the mines. While caring for people with the plague, Peter contracted the disease in 1650. After four years of suffering, he died in 1654. St. Peter Claver was canonized in 1888. His feast day is Sept. 9.