Rezzanello di Gazzola, a small town in the Piacenza region, welcomed a large group of people again this year, in remembrance of Blessed Leonella Sgorbati, a Consolata missionary and martyr, who was born here in 1940.
In 2026, 20 years will be remembered since her tragic death, which occurred in Mogadishu (Somalia) on September 17, 2006, and for the occasion, many have mobilized to highlight the anniversary: the Alpini groups have built a “mistadello” (a small votive pillar) to Blessed Leonella at the foot of the steps of the parish church, and Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, a Consolata missionary and apostolic prefect in Mongolia, presided over the celebration.
The Consolata Missionary Sisters also “mobilized,” in the most literal sense of the word, and many arrived from Turin in the early afternoon of Sunday, August 16, in Rezzanello.
Inauguration of the “Mistadello” to Blessed Leonella
In the presence of civil authorities, representatives of the Alpini groups, numerous priests, and the Bishop of Piacenza Bobbio, Msgr. Adriano Cevolotto, Cardinal Giorgio incensed the new mistadello and laid a sunflower as a sign of devotion to the image of Blessed Leonella. The pillar was built by the Alpini with local material, to emphasize the roots, the origins of Sister Leonella, born Rosa Sgorbati.
Holy Mass in the Parish of Rezzanello
Cardinal Giorgio then followed with Holy Mass, during which he highlighted some aspects of Blessed Leonella:
An experience that she would later describe as fundamental: the real encounter with a presence, summarized in these words: ‘I am here and I love you. Go and tell everyone that I am here and that I love them.’ Not long before she was killed, she returned to that primordial experience, which occurred when she was still a young girl.Those who knew her – and we have several witnesses here today, especially among her fellow Missionaries of Consolata – can confirm that Sister Leonella was always there for everyone; that radical, heroic act of facing violent death had been built upon a daily self-giving to Christ with all her being, attentive to the needs of the people she encountered here in Italy, in Kenya, and in Somalia, in the most ordinary walks of life. Her dedication until the end was guided by that fundamental, original experience from her youth.
Mother Lucia Bortolomasi, Superior General, on behalf of all the Missionaries of Consolata, addresses those present with these words:
Sister Leonella was certain that she was inhabited by God. We want to pray to her, so that she may intercede for us from Heaven.The intercession of Blessed Leonella so that all of us, in the simple gestures of everyday life, can be instruments of love, peace, and reconciliation, as Sister Leonella was.
The Bishop of Piacenza Bobbio, Msgr. Adriano Cevolotto, compares Rezzanello to Nazareth, where daily holiness is built in silence. A place we may know little about, yet, as with Jesus, Rezzanello is part of the mystery of a life given. It is an invitation to recognize the ordinary places of life, as places that preserve and foster gestures of holiness, such as the extreme act of martyrdom of Sister Leonella. Holiness belongs to everyone, and through her intercession, we can desire a life of holiness.
A heartfelt THANK YOU to the Parish of Gazzola and to all the individuals and groups who so generously prepared this significant event! May Blessed Leonella intercede for each of you!
Sr. Stefania Raspo, mc
