AFRICA/SOMALIA - “I used to pull her leg a lot. Sister Leonella was of robust build but I always said her heart was far bigger than her bulk”: Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu recalls Italian missionary Sister murdered in Somalia

Djibouti (Agenzia Fides)- “I used to pull her leg a lot. Sister Leonella was of robust build but I always told her that her heart was far bigger than her bulk. And it was true: although not in good health, Sr Leonella was determined to stay and carry on her work to assist the people of Somalia. Sadly, it was a bullet that stopped that great heart from beating” Bishop Giorgio Bertin, Bishop of Djibouti and Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu told Fides with regard to Italian Consolata missionary Sister Leonella Sgorbati, shot dead in the capital of Somalia yesterday. “The murder of Sr Leonella must be seen in the context of the situation in that country where rising tension is due to a series of causes. In recent months there has been visible rising tension with the west and Christianity. This was also due to reports of Ethiopian troops on Somali territory because Ethiopia is seen as a Christian power. In addition there have been inflammatory discourses by certain extremists. In Somalia there is a struggle for power in which religion is exploited” said Bishop Bertin
“In the past even the Sisters were targets of abductions and attacks. Great prudence is necessary before making statements in the present sensitive and complicated situation in Somalia” the Bishop added.
Bishop Bertin expressed the opinion “the aim was not to kill Sr Leonella but to strike a Catholic nun, any nun. The ambush was premeditated. The killers knew at what time Sister would go home for lunch and they knew where to strike”.
Sheikh Muktar Robow vice security chief for the Islamic Courts which now control Mogadishu, strongly condemned the murder a “barbarous act contrary to the teaching of Islam” promising to find and punish those responsible. “One of the murderers has been captured” Robow said, “and is collaborating. We hope now to capture his accomplice”.
Sr Leonella Sgorbati, Rosa, was born in Gazzola, Piacenza, Italy, 9 December 1940. In May 1963 she joined the Consolata Missionaries at San Frè, Cuneo and made her perpetual vows nine years later in November 1972. After training as a nurse in Britain 1966-1968, in 1970 she was sent on mission to Kenya where she served in Consolata hospitals in Mathari, Nyeri and Nazareth in the outskirts of Nairobi 1970 - 1983. In 1985 she was appointed head teacher at the Nurses Training School at Meru Hospital in Nkubu.
On 26 November 1993 she was elected Consolata regional superior in Kenya, a responsibility which she held for 6 years. In 2001 Sr Leonella spent some months in Mogadishu to organise a Nurses Training School at the Austrian Catholic aid agency SOS Village Hospital there. The first courses were started on 18 April 2002, and the first diplomas were awarded in 2006. In August this year, after battling with bureaucracy Sr Leonella managed to obtain World Health Organisation recognition for the nursing diploma issued to her nurses. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 18/9/2006 righe 45 parole 582)