from Sr Elsie Andrade

Sr. Leornarda Casiraghi (89), recipient of Padmashree award (1998), Lourdes Convent, Dharwad, passed away on August 26.

Funeral on August 28 at Lady of Lourdes, School of Nursing Chapel at 11.00 am.

About Sr Leornarda Casiraghi

Sr Leonarda Casiraghi was born on 18th Oct 1922 in Biassano Monza in the Province of Milano, Italy.

As a teen, she exhibited a rare quality of love for the poor and needy. At the age of 23, when everyone looks around for the pleasures of life, she experienced the Divine call and responded: “Here I am Lord, ready to do Your Will”.

In 1945, she joined the Missionary Novitiate at Bergamo, of the Sisters of Charity of Saints Bartolomea Capitanio and Vinceza Gerosa, with a firm resolve to be a servant of God and to travel to one of the underdeveloped countries. Providence lead her to India, in 1955, where she served one year at Jeppo in Mangalore, two years at VijayMarie hospital Hyderabad and reached Dharwad in 1958 till date.

Sr. Leonarda’s mission in India which extends over a span of 56 years has been dedicated to the service of the sick, the poor and the destitute with out any bias of religion, caste, creed and social standing. As a Superior, she provided much needed leadership and built up a strong band of committed sisters in her community.

During her early years of service she went around visiting the sick and poor, providing them with nursing care and medical aid. She along with Sr.Bertilla D’souza and  Sr. Angela Monis also promoted health care and hygiene among the slum dwellers, struggling against difficulties, without adequate accommodation, personnel and an increasing number of patients. She then realized the necessity of providing in-patient service. Because of her untiring efforts, and inspirational leadership, inspite of inadequate funds, from a two room dispensary, a thirty bedded hospital sprung up.in 1969. In 1972, the first floor was completed. In 1986, she further expanded the hospital with separate departments. Thus an OPD block, operation theatre, children’s ward, female ward, maternity ward, x-ray unit, pathology department came up and hospital availed the services of consultants and resident doctors. Such was her pioneering services.

Due to her sincere efforts, total commitment to the work undertaking and firm faith in God she was able to build this  well known medical institution in this part of Karnataka, namely Our Lady of Lourdes Charitable Hospital which bears ample testimony to her unstinted dedication to the sick, suffering and poor.  .

Doddamma as she is popularly known as, has many hallmarks of achievement in her spectacular track record of performance. Once it so happened, that the corporation authorities demolished the dwellings of poor people residing in Gulganjikoppa, Haveri Pet, Laxmisinghanakeri. All those displaced, with no hesitation rushed to Lourdes hospital also popularly known as German Hospital along with their belongings. For these helpless victims of bureaucratic apathy, Doddamma turned out to be a real god mother. She had tough time in convincing the corporation officials and managed to get them alternate sites. Such was her rapport with government officials as well as the needy poor.

Not only that, she also brought into force a novel scheme “Food for Work”. The poor people got wages in the form of food grains, for constructing their own houses, who otherwise would have starved building their own houses. The plight of the poor shook her consciousness and she made her humble contribution by providing free plots, through municipality in constructing new Janata houses in the slums like Gulganjikoppa,  Laxmisinghanakeri and Toppavan.

In recognition of her noble services to humanity the then Bishop of Belgaum Rt. Rev. Ignatius Lobo, recommended her for the award of “Pro-Ecclesia et – Pontifice” in 1978. Honorary membership of Rotary was conferred in the year 1995, for her outstanding services to the cause of the poor and the neglected. The government of India had also recognized the services of Sr. Leonarda Casiraghi, and honored her with the Padmadree in 1998 for her selfless and exemplary service in the socio-medical field.

Several poor villagers gained their eye sight through free eye camps conducted in the hospital in collaboration with Rotary International. The same rotary club also came forward to donate equipment for a proposed Blood Bank, now housed at Lourdes Hospital.

The hospital also was equipped with a new school of nursing which was inaugurated in the third week of December 2001 by the then Minister for Water Resources Hon’rable Shri H.K.Patil. Recognizing the selfless service rendered by the hospital, he ensured that the red tape be ripped off.