Leonella Sgorbati
Italian martyr (1940-2006)
Feast: 17 September (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
The Vatican record
- 8 November 2017 — Martyrdom recognised (decree list, 2017)
Who they were
Rosa Sgorbati was born at Gazzola, near Piacenza, on 9 December 1940. She joined the Consolata Missionary Sisters as Sister Leonella and trained as a nurse for her mission in Kenya, understanding 'consolation' as bringing the Word of God, the only true balm for wounded hearts.
Her life was a total gift, as her founder taught: 'A missionary must always be ready for martyrdom.' On Sunday 17 September 2006, around noon, after teaching her student nurses in Somalia, she was killed in hatred of the faith by Islamist extremists.
The miracles
As a martyr, beatified without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
A missionary nurse who gave her life for the Gospel and the poor of Somalia.
The cause
Leonella Sgorbati has been beatified; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: Consolata Missionary Sisters: Blessed Leonella Sgorbati.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Leonella Sgorbati
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — promulgated decrees (causesanti.va), summarised in our own words
- Wikidata Q450182 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Leonella Sgorbati (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.