Leonard Hospital functions under the auspices of The Congregation of the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod. The Order was founded by Mother Claudine Echernier in 1838 in Annecy, France, with the mission of caring for the sick, orphans and the underprivileged, as well as to educate the young and empower women. In 1886 the Sisters came to India and began ministries of healing and education among the sick, the poor, the illiterate and the outcaste villagers.

The Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod serve sixteen counties around the world and, in India, function at over one hundred and fifty centers and convents from the western Gulf waters of Bombay to the eastern shores of Calcutta and from the capital of Delhi south to Rameshwaram.

The Madurai Province of The Sisters of the Cross in which Batlagundu is located comprises seventeen mission stations in which the Sisters render their services through various ministries like education, healing and social service including empowering women, rehabilitating battered wives, caring for orphans, mentally and physically challenged children, with a centre for de-addiction, a prison ministry, a youth ministry, pastoral service and caring for the elderly and old-age homes.

No one would have imagined that back in 1958 when the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod established a simple Dispensary in Batlagundu that it would evolve into the fine hospital it is today. Beginning with the motivation to promote the spiritual, moral, mental and social advancement of the people and to bring wholeness through compassionate love and service, Leonard Hospital maintains these principles in its scope of serving the people of these rural and urban areas.

In the original spirit of the Dispensary, Leonard Hospital, in addition to its primary medical mission, has also established independently-run programs engaging community health and development, including village clinics, school health programs and development programs in collaboration with the Government of India and non-governmental organizations.