To love life means to place oneself at its service. Blessed Leonella Sgorbati, a Consolata Missionary, who spent her life serving the poorest, undoubtedly set an example of the greatest self-giving, down to the last drop of her blood.
As a true daughter of St. Joseph Allamano, who wanted his Missionaries to be authentic, but above all, women fully in love with God, burning with missionary zeal and eager to make him known to the ends of the earth. Simple, profound, humble women, women of living faith, willing to give their lives at any cost, women of great charity, capable of giving themselves for the good of others.
Blessed Leonella lived all these things deeply. She carried out her mission particularly in the missions of Kenya and Somalia. Her training as a professional nurse, midwife, and social-health assistant brought her particularly close to women. Wherever she worked, Sister Leonella demonstrated great interest in offering a comprehensive human, intellectual, religious, and technical-professional formation to young women aspiring to the nursing profession.
For her, the value of the individual and service to life were fundamental aspects, which had to penetrate every fiber of her students. There was no discussion about this, because being a nurse was not just a job, it was a vocation, a calling to bear witness to God’s love for those who suffer. And she was the first to live this, not only with her patients, but also with her students.
She cared for them, knew each one by name, ensured they were well-fed and that the quarters where they lived were decent. She was attentive to all their needs and sought to reconcile love with appropriate severity. She protected and loved them like a true mother, to the point that if one of them became pregnant—contrary to the regulations—she could continue her studies, acting as an intermediary with the family and also supporting them financially.
With pregnant women and those who had just become mothers, she displayed an ineffable kindness and mercy. She had fifty beds available on the ward. She always found a way to add more. She couldn’t bring herself to send a pregnant woman home, perhaps even walking for miles, just because she was still a week away from giving birth.
Here, in these brief brushstrokes, is Sister Leonella’s approach to women. Sister Leonella was a true mother, friend, and counselor to women, who devoted all her energy to seeking their well-being, to ensuring that they reached the highest peaks and that they too would be witnesses of God’s love for the poor and the marginalized of society.
Sr. Gloria Elena López, mc
