BL. LEONELLA SGORBATI, VIRGIN AND MARTYR - 17 SEPTEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN SEPTEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 17th of September

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

BL. LEONELLA SGORBATI, VIRGIN AND MARTYR 

On September 17, 2006, 65-year-old Italian Consolata Missionary Sister Leonella Sgorbati was ambushed and fatally wounded outside the Mogadishu hospital (in Somalia), where she worked. 

BECAUSE SHE WAS A CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN, SHE WAS AMBUSHED AND FATALLY WOUNDED

Some suspected the shooting was connected with strong criticism by a radical Somali cleric about Pope Benedict XVI - during a lecture - citing a source criticising Islam. 

A MISSIONARY TEACHING STUDENT NURSES

Sister Sgorbati had worked as a missionary in Africa for several decades, instructing student nurses. 

SHE FORGAVE HER MURDERERS

After the attack, Sister Sgorbati was taken to the Austrian-funded SOS Hospital for surgery, but she died from her injuries, repeating, time and time again, in Italian: "I forgive, I forgive."

DECREE OF MARTYRDOM

Sister Sgorbati was venerated on November 8, 2017 by Pope Francis (decree of martyrdom) and beatified on May 26, 2018 by Pope Francis.