Saint Mary MacKillop

Life story

Mary MacKillop was born on 15 January 1842 at Fitzroy, a suburb of Melbourne, the eldest child in a Scottish immigrant family. The family was often short of money, and from her teens she worked to help her parents. She worked as a governess and teacher in the south of South Australia, where she came to know the priest Julian Tenison Woods.

In 1866 at Penola, she and Fr Woods opened a small school for poor children, from which grew the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The sisters lived simply, owned no personal property, went to remote places to teach rural children and opened institutions to help the poor, the elderly and orphans.

The congregation met tensions with some local bishops. In 1871 Bishop Laurence Sheil of Adelaide, after disagreements about how the institute was run, excommunicated her; a few months later he lifted the sentence. She travelled to Rome in 1873 to present the congregation's rule, and the institute was approved by the Holy See.

She served as superior general, travelled widely in Australia and New Zealand, and died on 8 August 1909 in Sydney. John Paul II beatified her in 1995, and Benedict XVI canonised her on 17 October 2010, making her Australia's first saint. Her feast is kept on 8 August. The congregation she founded, commonly known as the Josephites, continues to work in schools and social services in Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

Works and witness

• Opened a school for poor children at Penola with Fr Woods in 1866
• Founded a congregation of sisters without personal property, teaching in remote areas
• Excommunicated in 1871 and reinstated a few months later
• Travelled to Rome in 1873 to seek approval of the rule
• Beatified in 1995, canonised in 2010

References

• Martyrologium Romanum
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
• Paul Gardiner, biographical studies of Mary MacKillop

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.