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10-Oct-2010
The cross is a very important part of the spirituality of Mary MacKillop. You can see the pattern of the cross on her life and how when she did so much good for so many people it was at a cost of great suffering, writes Archbishop Philip Wilson.
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10-Oct-2010
We hope that this Canonisation brings affirmation to the hundreds of thousands of Australians who like Mary MacKillop live their faith, witness to hope, are motivated by love and so make this world a much better place, writes Anne Derwin, head of Catholic Religious Australia.
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10-Oct-2010
We admire Mary Mackillop's strength of resolve and action, her intrepid opposition to authority, and her devoted pursuit of social justice in the lives of society’s marginalised and disadvantaged, writes Quentin Bryce, the Governor-General of Australia.
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10-Oct-2010
Like most people, I couldn’t just up sticks and leave the country. I have creditors, a daughter, a mild but persistent addiction to London and a spider plant. But like most people, I sometimes wish I could. And if I could, I would like to live in Rome, writes Keith Miller.
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10-Oct-2010
Mary Mackillop's own website provides a rich portal for visitors to find everything they need to know about Australia's first saint. The site has multiple sections covering her life and times, achievements, legacies, resources, a photo gallery and now, details of her forthcoming canonisation.
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10-Oct-2010
Born in Melbourne on January 15, 1842, of Scottish migrant parents, Mary was the eldest of eight children. Her mother, Flora (McDonald), a strong and courageous woman, had amazing trust in God’s Providence.
Her ‘schoolmaster’ father, Alexander, was unsuccessful in business. In 1873, Mary wrote: "My life as a child was one of sorrow, my home when I had it a most unhappy one…
"When I was a little more than 16 years of age, the principal care of a large family fell upon me, and … I felt its burden yearly more and more."
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10-Oct-2010
Starting today, Sunday, October 10, until October 17, St Mary's Cathedral will have a daily program including:
• a pilgrimage to the cathedral.
• an informal walking tour between Cathedral and Mary MacKillop Place, with display in the crypt celebrating Mary’s life and history, passing by St Joseph’s chapel.
• A Novena to be at daily Mass for the nine days leading up to the Canonisation.
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10-Oct-2010
After having her car broken into and losing her laptop and mobile phone, Josephite Congregational Leader Sister Anne Derwent applied the practical and faith-filled wisdom of the founder Mary MacKillop: ‘Start again because they can't take what's most important. God will provide that,' writes Father Michael Kelly.
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10-Oct-2010
Father Paul Gardiner SJ, who was the postulator for Mary's case for canonisation worked for many years preparing the justification for making her a saint. He is pictured here outside the historic Josephite schoolhouse in Penola, South Australia.
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10-Oct-2010
Up to 8000 Australians are expected to arrive in Rome in coming days so they can say they were there when Mary MacKillop, a 19th-century nun who taught, and cared for, the poor, was declared the nation's first saint. Australia's Catholic community is determined to make its presence felt at the historic occasion.
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10-Oct-2010
The canonisation of Australia's first saint has a special meaning for Blue Wiggle Anthony Field, who believes his father was a beneficiary of her holiness when he was struck down by a heart attack. "He gained strength and inspiration from Mary's life," Field says.
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