Intercessory prayer group focuses on human trafficking

Story and Photos By Christine Bordelon, Clarion Herald 

At St. Edward the Confessor Church on Jan. 12, a newly formed rosary group called the Intercessors of St. Josephine Bakhita prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries for a very special intention – the victims, survivors and perpetrators of human trafficking.

Their prayer contained a common thread: “O, St. Bakhita, assist all those who are trapped in a state of slavery. Intercede with God on their behalf so that they will be released from their chains of captivity. Those whom man enslaves, let God set free.”

The impetus for forming the group was learning about the prevalence of sex trafficking, not only nationwide but also locally. Cheryl Galland and Sheri Schielder, mother and daughter, felt compelled to do something to end this modern-day slavery.

“We had come to a prayer meeting at St. Edward in 2019 for St. Josephine Bakhita, and we know about human trafficking and knew how bad the problem was,” Galland said.

Schielder was further informed of the signs of sex trafficking by an FBI agent at a meeting with Susan Woodruff, a friend and nurse practitioner, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Kenner.

“It was really informative,” Woodruff said.

A wider reach in church

Galland said while the group first considered an in-home rosary, Yvette Fouchi, Respect Life coordinator at  St. Edward the Confessor, thought more people could be reached with a rosary in church.

Thus, St. Edward the Confessor’s Intercessors of St. Josephine Bakhita was born. 

“I’m hoping and praying God will get rid of this scourge in our world,” Galland said.

The intercessors lead the Sorrowful Mysteries with a special intention every decade and before each Hail Mary. Fouchi wrote the intentions, using her experience on the archdiocesan Committee for Human Trafficking, working with juveniles in jail and elsewhere.

Examples of the intentions include:

• “For ourselves, as individuals and as a community, that we take responsibility to learn the signs of trafficking hidden in our midst and anything suspicious”;

• “For bullied school children who are desperate to accept the appearance of love from anyone and become prime targets for grooming by sex traffickers”;

• “For the men, women and children who will be sold today for the first time, that they can remember their worth is infinite in the eyes of God and is not dependent upon a value decided by others.”

“The rosary was beautiful,” Woodruff said. “It made me focus more on the children.”

“It brings our attention to all the places people can be trafficked, such as the mall, sporting events such as the Super Bowl,” Galland said.

While volunteering at a safe house called Free Indeed, Fouchi heard stories from girls, ages 12-17, who had been trafficked. Free Indeed is run by Beth and Dr. Rafael Salcedo.

That experience convinced Galland of the necessity of keeping safe houses like Free Indeed open to allow such children to escape a life of trafficking.

Having training with the FBI and Homeland Security has taught her the mindset of children trapped in this life. What she tries to do when interacting with them is to tell them that they are made in the image of God and that they have dignity.

“God is good,” Beth Salcedo said. “He loves those children like he loves us.”

Human trafficking month

Salcedo is slated to speak at St. Edward the Confessor at a special prayer service Feb. 7, beginning with confessions at 5 p.m., followed by Mass at 6 and the prayer service at 6:45, concluding with her talk. Donations of gift cards, toiletries and cleaning products are welcomed.

Free Indeed has been temporarily closed due to lack of state funding, but an effort is underway to reopen it. Organizers feel the establishment of the intercessory prayer group to St. Josephine Bakhita can help the house continue as a licensed therapeutic group home for adolescent, sex-trafficked girls.

“We feel this is a sign that God wants us to reopen,” Beth Salcedo said. “There are so many out there – girls from all over the state.”

“I want to tell everyone the magnitude of the problem, and it’s not just in Louisiana, but here in Metairie. It’s not just on the street. Your child on the computer could be talking to a perpetrator pretending to be 14 or 15. Everyone has access to a computer and the evil in the world.”

Adolescents from Texas, and Mississippi and Alabama have stayed at Free Indeed.

Also, on Feb. 8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the archdiocesan Respect Life Office, the Marianite Sisters and the University of Holy Cross, 4123 Woodland Drive, New Orleans, will host “A Light in the Darkness: Human Trafficking Symposium.”

The day will include talks by a human trafficking survivor and experts in the field. Registration is required through respectlife.arch-no.org.

Who is St. Josephine Bakhita?

St. Josephine Bakhita was born in 1869 in the Sudan and was kidnapped and sold to an Italian diplomat. It was the Conossian Sisters in Italy who helped her obtain her freedom and taught her about God. She became a religious and served her community for 50 years, dying in 1947.

In 2000, she was canonized and is considered the patron saint of the Sudan and of human trafficking victims.

Archbishop Rummel eighth grader Larris Duhon, 14, who attended the Jan. 12 rosary at St. Edward the Confessor, said a talk at his high school about dignity and how young men should treat women and how women should treat men mentioned  human trafficking.

“It shows you what young girls are going through at my age,” Duhon said about the intentions in the rosary for human trafficking. “It shows you with all the good, the world is also dark. Sex trafficking doesn’t get exposed enough. We’re free from slavery, but underground there are traffickers selling young girls.”

“I’m praying for the kids who grow up in this world and the child traffickers, hoping they will … turn their lives around,” Schielder said.

“I hope it grows,” Galland said about attendance at the monthly rosary held at 1:15 each second Sunday.

For details on rosary group, call Fouchi at 874-9225.

Christine Bordelon can be reached at [email protected].