On the 17th of September
2006, Sister Leonella Sgorbati, a Consolata Missionary Sister, was ambushed and
shot by two gunmen in Somalia’s war torn capital of Mogadishu.
This dedicated Missionary Sister had
spent about 30 years of her life in Africa. Born near Piacenza in Italy in
1940, Sister Sgorbati’s only desire since a teenager was to become a Missionary
nun. At first her mother was opposed to this idea and told her to wait until
she turned twenty. At twenty her resolution to become a nun was still strong,
and so in 1963 she joined the Consolata Missionary Sisters. During the years
1966-68 she took a nursing course in England. After this she was appointed to
Kenya, where she arrived in September 1970. In November 1972 she took her
perpetual vows.
From 1970 to 1983 Sister Leonella served
in the Consolata Hospital Mathari, Nyeri and Nazareth Hospital, on the
outskirts of Nairobi. In 1983 Sister Leonella started advanced studies in
nursing, and in 1985 she became the main tutor for the nursing school attached
to the Nkubu Hospital Meru. In 1993 she was elected Regional Superior for the
Consolata Missionary Sisters in Kenya, a post she held for six years. In 2001,
Sister Leonella spent a few months in the Somali capital of Mogadishu looking
into the prospect of opening a nursing school in the hospital run by the
organization SOS Children’s Village.
In 2002 this project was realised and
Sister Leonella was placed in charge of the nursing school, a position she held
until her death in 2006. Her first students graduated in 2006, sometime before
her death. Sister Leonella fought a long bureaucratic battle to obtain
internationally recognized diplomas for her students; she succeeded and the
World Health Organization (WHO) issued internationally recognized diplomas to
her students.
Following this, Sister Leonella returned
to Kenya with three of her students, whom she enrolled at the Medical Training
College. Her aim was to have these three students form the nucleus of the
future tutors at the school. Getting these students into Kenya, and sorting out
the registration and financial difficulties in enrolling them into the college
was another struggle, but as soon as Sister saw it through, she headed off to
Uganda to scout for hospitals willing to train her other students in operating
theatre work.
Sister Leonella had difficulty returning
to Somalia due to the new laws imposed by the Islamic Courts Union running the
region around Mogadishu at that time. However on the 13th of
September, just days before her murder, she managed to re-enter Somalia.
On the fateful day of the 17th
of September, Sister Leonella crossed the road that separates the hospital from
the accommodation of the Consolata Sisters. Hiding behind vehicles and kiosks
that are found along this road, two gunmen attacked the Sister. The first shot
hit her in the thigh, her bodyguard, Mohamed Osman Mahamud, opened fire on the
two gunmen. They fired back killing him and hitting Sister Leonella twice. One
of these bullets entered her back and severed an artery causing a severe
haemorrhage. Sister Leonella was rushed into the nearby hospital where she died
shortly after. Her dying words were in Italian: “Perdono, perdono” “I forgive, I forgive”.
The then Holy Father, Pope Emeritus
Benedict XVI, in a public address some days after Sister Leonella’s death,
praised her for her Christian witness in pardoning her killers:
"Some are asked to give the supreme testimony of blood, just as … Sr.
Leonella Sgorbati, who fell victim to violence…This sister, who for many years
served the poor and the children in Somalia, died pronouncing the word
'forgive,'…This is the most authentic Christian testimony, a peaceful sign of
contradiction which shows the victory of love over hatred and evil."
Sister Leonella Sgorbati’s cause for
Beatification is in process; may she soon be raised to the Altars as a sign of humble
and determined Missionary effort in the face of hatred and hostility to the
Gospel. And may her prayers hasten the coming of peace and the growth of the
Church in war torn Somalia and to the long suffering people of this land, whom
this good Sister loved even unto death.
The closing paragraph is taken from the
Consolata Missionary Sisters' website and is a beautiful testimony to the life
of Sister Leonella:
“Sister Leonella was well aware of
the danger surrounding her. As she used to say, she knew that there was a
bullet with her name engraved on it just waiting for her in Mogadishu. But this
never deterred her or discouraged her. She was certain that God wanted her in
Somalia. For her, that was the will of God. So nothing could stop her in the
mission undertaken, not even the knowledge that she could be killed any time.
For this reason she dedicated herself completely, sparing no effort and truly
turning every stone to accomplish the mission of setting up the school of
nursing, to give hope and a future to a country ravaged by war. Her love for
God and the Somali people was stronger than any fear, and she strongly believed
in the people she was serving.”
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