Papal nuncio remembers work of Italian nun slain in Somali capital

Published: 2006-10-23

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) -- More than a month after Consolata Sister Leonella Sgorbati was gunned down in Mogadishu, Somalia, she was remembered for her missionary work. Archbishop Alain Lebeaupin, the Vatican's nuncio to Kenya, celebrated a memorial Mass for her Oct. 21, the day before World Mission Sunday, in Nairobi's Flora Hostel chapel. During his homily, the archbishop said it was sad that Sister Leonella died at the hands of the people to whom she had dedicated her life, but he added that religious life was simply a sacrifice for others. Sister Leonella, an Italian nun, worked at a children's hospital and was running a nurses' training school in Mogadishu when she was shot, along with her bodyguard, Sept. 16. Archbishop Lebeaupin told the hundreds of Consolata nuns who attended the memorial service that missionaries like Sister Leonella must be ready to give their lives to others. Among those present were three of the four nuns who had worked with her.

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