Mary Helen MacKillop (15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909) was an Australian Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Since her death she has attracted much veneration in Australia and internationally.
MacKillop is the only Australian to have been beatified (in 1995 by Pope John Paul II). On 17 July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008. On 19 December 2009, Pope Benedict XVI approved the Church's recognition of a second miracle attributed to her intercession. It was announced on 19 February 2010 that her canonisation is due to be formally declared on 17 October 2010,making her the first Australian saint. After her canonisation she will be known as Saint Mary of the Cross.
Mary MacKillop, 1869
Born 15 January 1842
Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
Died 8 August 1909 (aged 67)
North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Venerated in Catholic Church
Beatified 19 January 1995, Sydney by Pope John Paul II
Canonized 17 October 2010, Rome
Major shrine Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney
Feast 8 August
Patronage Australia, Brisbane
1842: Born in Brunswick Street at Fitzroy in Melbourne on January 15; baptised Maria Ellen MacKillop on January 28.
1850: Celebrates her first holy communion on August 15.
1856: Starts working at age 14 and soon after becomes the primary breadwinner for her family.
1861: Becomes governess to the children of her uncle, Alexander Cameron, at Penola in South Australia, where she meets Father Julian Tenison Woods, who becomes her spiritual guide.
Teaching and religious calling
1863: Takes a job as a teacher at Portland Catholic Denominational School.
1866: Along with Father Woods, starts the first free Catholic school in Penola, at first in a stable and later in a more substantial stone building.
1867: Joins with Father Woods to form a new religious order of nuns, the Sisters of St Joseph, devoted to teaching the poor, with Mary as mother superior; opens a convent-cottage and a school in Adelaide; takes her religious vows on August 15.
1869: Takes her final vows on December 8; and leaves for Queensland to open schools there.
1870: Opposition to the Sisters grows over the issue of central government and refusal to accept government grants for education; the sisters face trouble in Adelaide over 'visionaries'.
1871: Bishop Laurence Sheil of Adelaide excommunicates Mary on September 22 for alleged insubordination; 47 sisters are expelled.
1872: Bishop Sheil removes the excommunication order on February 23, nine days before he dies; the sisters are restored to their habits on March 19; an investigation vindicates Mary and the sisters; Father Woods is advised to relinquish direction of the sisters.
1873: Mary travels to Rome for a personal audience with Pope Pius IX, obtains papal approval for the sisterhood but the 'Rule of Life' Father Woods set down is discarded and another is drawn up, causing a breach between Mary and Father Woods.
1874: Mary returns to Australia with 15 Irish postulants, following travels in Europe to visit schools.
1875: Mary is elected as the first superior general of the Sisters of St Joseph.
1876: The sisters are obliged to leave Bathurst because of Bishop Matthew Quinn's refusal to accept central government of the institute.
1879: The sisters are obliged to leave Queensland because of the bishop's refusal to accept central government of the institute.
1881: Mary re-elected as superior general.
1883: The sisters expand to New Zealand with the establishment of their first foundation at Temuka on the South Island; Bishop Reynolds dismisses Mary in Adelaide over accusations she was an alcoholic (Mary drank brandy to relieve very severe menstrual pain), and she moves to Sydney.
1885: Cardinal Moran says Mary's election in 1881 is invalid and appoints Mother Bernard Walsh as leader.
1888: A decree from Rome declares the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart is an approved regular congregation, some alterations are made to habits and the sisters' rule.
1891: Mary suffers the first of many bouts of serious illness, as the order she founded has 300 sisters working in nine dioceses in Australia and New Zealand.
1899: Mary is elected as superior general once again, replacing Bernard Walsh.
1902: Mary suffers a stroke and travels to Rotorua in New Zealand.
1909: Mary dies on August 8 at Mount Street in North Sydney and is buried at Gore Hill Cemetery. video
Related matter;