Mary MacKillop | |
|---|---|
 Mother Mary of the Cross (1869) | |
| Virgin | |
| Born | 15 January 1842
|
| Died | 8 August 1909 (aged 67) North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 19 January 1995, Sydney, New South Wales by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | 17 October 2010, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI |
| Major shrine | Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Feast | 8 August |
| Patronage | |
Mary Helen MacKillop RSJ (in religion Mary of the Cross; 15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909) was an Australian religious sister of Scottish descent. She was born in Melbourne but is best known for her activities in South Australia. Together with Fr Julian Tenison-Woods, she founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the Josephites), a congregation of religious sisters that established a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australia and New Zealand, with an emphasis on education for the rural poor.
The process to have MacKillop declared a saint began in the 1920s, and she was beatified in January 1995 by Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008 and in December 2009 approved the Catholic Church's recognition of a second miracle attributed to her intercession.[3] She was canonised on 17 October 2010, during a public ceremony in St Peter's Square at the Vatican.[4] She is the first Australian Catholic saint.[5] Mary MacKillop is the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Brisbane.[2]
- ^ "St Mary of the Cross MacKillop Named Second Patron of Australia". Sydney Catholic. Archdiocese of Sydney. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Archdiocesan Patron – St Mary of the Cross MacKillop". Archdiocese of Brisbane. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ "MacKillop has become Australia's first saint", ABC News, 20 December 2009, archived from the original on 29 June 2011, retrieved 19 December 2009
- ^ "Canonization for Mary MacKillop underway". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
- ^ "St. Mary MacKillop". britannica.com. 3 May 2024.