Reverend Larry Silva, Bishop | Diocese of Honolulu

Pope Francis has urged Christians to focus on protecting vulnerable children in areas such as Gaza, Sudan, and migrant or refugee camps worldwide. His message comes as part of the Jubilee Year 2025 initiatives. During a public audience on January 8, 2025, he highlighted the ongoing issue of child labor and its connection to human trafficking.

The Catholic Church marks February 8th as the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking. This date honors St. Josephine Bakhita, who survived child labor trafficking and later became a symbol of hope for other victims. Bakhita was kidnapped at seven years old in Sudan and sold into slavery multiple times before finding freedom with the Canossian Sisters in Italy. She became a Canossian nun dedicated to serving children and was canonized in 2000 as the patron saint of human trafficking victims.

Bakhita's legacy is carried on by Talitha Kum, a global network of Catholic sisters combating human trafficking through community-based efforts. Their work involves providing care to survivors, their families, and at-risk children who have faced trauma from trafficking and child labor.

In Hawaii, the Sisters of St. Francis continue their mission inspired by Mother Marianne Cope of Molokaʻi, canonized in 2012 as the patron saint of outcasts. The Sisters have served vulnerable communities across Hawaiian islands through hospitals and schools. After the 2022 Maui wildfires destroyed Lahaina’s Sacred Hearts School, efforts were made to ensure that education continued for affected children, including those from migrant families.

The St. Augustine Education Foundation (AEF) has been instrumental in this recovery process by working with the Diocese of Honolulu to provide tuition assistance for families needing help affording Catholic education in Hawaii.

For more information or to support these initiatives during the Jubilee year, visit Talitha Kum's website at www.talithakum.org or the St. Augustine Education Foundation at www.augustinefoundation.org.