Who was Mary MacKillop?
Mary MacKillop was an Australian nun and educator who co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1866. In 2010, she became the first Australian to be declared a saint by the Catholic Church.
MacKillop was born in Melbourne in 1842 to Scottish parents. She worked as a governess and teacher, becoming concerned about the lack of education for poor children in rural areas.
In 1866, she and Father Julian Tenison Woods founded a school in a converted stable in Penola, South Australia. That same year, they founded the Sisters of St Joseph, often called the Josephites.
Excommunication and sainthood
The Josephites established schools, orphanages and shelters across Australia and New Zealand. In 1871, MacKillop was briefly excommunicated by the Bishop of Adelaide after disputes with church authorities. The decision was overturned months later.
She died in Sydney in 1909. Her tomb is in the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel in North Sydney.
MacKillop was beatified in 1995 by Pope John Paul II and canonized as Saint Mary of the Cross by Pope Benedict XVI on 17 October 2010. Her feast day is 8 August.