Pope Benedict paid tribute today to an Italian nun killed in Somalia, saying her sacrifice was a prime example of Christian witness.
Gunmen killed Sr Leonella Sgorbati and her bodyguard a week ago outside a children's hospital in Mogadishu where she worked. The attack aroused speculation of links to Muslim anger over remarks by the Pope about Islam, but no direct link has been proved.
"This nun, who served the poor and children in Somalia for many years, died with the word 'forgiveness' on her lips," Pope Benedict told pilgrims and tourists in his Sunday address at his summer residence south of Rome.
"That is the most authentic of Christian witness, a peaceful sign of contradiction that demonstrates the victory of love over hate and evil," he said.
Sr Sgorbati, born in 1940 in Piacenza in northern Italy, was from the Missionaries of the Consolation order based in Nepi, near Rome.