Leonella Sgorbati
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Roman Catholic nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
who was murdered in Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
shortly after controversial comments by Pope Benedict XVI concerning Islam.
The true name of sister Leonella Sgorbati was Rosa Maria (Rose Mary) Sgorbati, and she changed her name when she became a nun (as changing one's name is common in Catholic congregation at the consecration
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
).
Sister Leonella was born in 1940 in Gazzola
Gazzola
Gazzola is a comune in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 150 km northwest of Bologna and about 15 km southwest of Piacenza...
near Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Since she was a teenager she wished to become a missionary nun, but her mother did not approve the choice and ask her to wait until she would be twenty. When finally sister Leonella was twenty, she said she did not change her mind and joined the Consolata Missionary Sisters in San Fre, Cuneo
Cuneo
Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area...
in May 1963 and took her perpetual vows in November 1972.
During this time she followed nursing course in England (1966–1968), and in September 1970 she was appointed to Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. From then until 1983 she served alternately at Consolata Hospital Mathari, Nyeri
Nyeri
Nyeri is a town in situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya Kenya, which was the administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province...
, and Nazareth Hospital in Kiambu on the outskirts of Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
. In mid-1983, Sister Leonella started her advanced studies in nursing and in 1985 became the principal tutor at the school of nursing attached to Nkubu Hospital, Meru, Kenya
Meru, Kenya
-Transport:The City of Meru is linked to Nairobi by a paved road, whether from the south around the east side of Mount Kenya, via Embu, or from the northwest around the west and north side of Mount Kenya, via Nanyuki and Timau....
.
In November 1993 she was elected regional superior of the Consolata Missionary Sisters in Kenya, a duty she performed for six years. After a sabbatical year, in 2001 she spent several months in Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
, looking at the possibility of setting up a nursing school in the hospital run by the SOS Children's Village organization. Hermann Gmeiner
Hermann Gmeiner
Hermann Gmeiner was an Austrian philanthropist and the founder of SOS Children's Villages.- Life :...
School of Registered Community Nursing opened in 2002, with Sister Leonella in charge. The first 34 nurses graduated from the school this year, awarded certificates and diplomas by the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
because Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
has had no government since 1991.
Sister Leonella was keen to train tutors for the nursing school. She returned to Kenya with three of her newly graduated nurses, to register them for further training at a medical training college. She faced difficulties in obtaining her own re-entry visa to Mogadishu, due to the new rules of the Islamic courts that now control the city and its environs. She managed to return to Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
on 13 September 2006.
Four days later she was gunned down outside her children's hospital. Her bodyguard was also killed. The attack was believed by someone to be in response to the comments made by Pope Benedict XVI during the Regensburg lecture, but this has never been absolutely confirmed, additionally, several humanitarian workers and Christian volunteers have already been murdered by Islamic gunmen in Somalia in the recent years, including Italian bishop Salvatore Colombo
Salvatore Colombo
The Most Rev. Dr. Pietro Salvatore Monsignor Colombo, O.F.M., Bishop of Mogadiscio, was born 28 October 1922 in Carate Brianza, Italy. He was murdered on 9 July 1989 in Mogadishu, Somalia.-Biography:...
shot dead during celebrating mass in Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
in 1989 , Graziella Fumagalli, an Italian medical doctor, killed in 1995 in the anti-TBC Center she was running ; the UN Nansen Refugee Award
Nansen Refugee Award
The Nansen Refugee Award formerly known as the Nansen Medal is given annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to individuals or groups in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees. It is one of the most prestigious awards in the United Nations system...
winner Annalena Tonelli
Annalena Tonelli
Annalena Tonelli was an Italian Roman Catholic volunteer working for 33 years in the Horn of Africa focusing on tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, campaigns for eradication of female genital mutilation, and special schools for hearing-impaired, blind and disabled children .In June...
assassinated in 2003 in a unique relief center in Borama, after 33 years of service to the poorest , and Dick and Enid Eyeington
Dick and Enid Eyeington
Dick and Enid Eyeington were British aid workers to Somalia. They were murdered in the northwestern town of Sheikh, Somaliland region of Somalia in 2003.- South Africa :...
in 2003.
On September 17, 2006, two gunmen emerged from behind nearby taxis and kiosks and shot sister Leonella Sgarbati in her back after about 30 years of aid work in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. She was rushed to the SOS Hospital and died shortly thereafter. Her last words apparently were (“I forgive; I forgive.”)
Somalian officials vowed justice for the nun's slaying. Two suspects were arrested and investigations were launched by Somalia's Islamic Courts Union.
Legacy
In October 2008 her cross has been transferred to the church San Bartolomeo all'IsolaSan Bartolomeo all'Isola
The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island is a titular minor basilica, located in Rome, Italy. It was founded at the end of the 10th century by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor. It contains the relics of St...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, which is dedicated to the martyrs of the 20th century.