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Australians owe Mary MacKillop great gratitude for her gifts to education, her demonstration of leadership and for the way she combined a strong faith in God with an awareness of God's overarching providence, writes Archbishop Denis Hart.
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The Papal Archbasilica of St John Lateran is the cathedral of the Church of Rome, and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope. It is one of the seven pilgrim churches.
The Pantheon is one of the only Roman structures to survive intact since antiquity. Perhaps the invading Barbarians were so overwhelmed by the monument that they didn't take it apart brick by brick.
Mary’s father, Alexander, was often caught up in speculative ventures but his lack of business sense, combined with passionate idealism (including forays into politics), led to temporary periods of slight prosperity but ended in insolvency.
Unable to support his wife and children, a dispirited Alexander moved away.
With compassionate love for him, Mary wrote to her mother in 1867: "I do feel for his lonely state". In 1868, with his loving wife Flora at his side, Alexander died in Hamilton, Victoria.
All this week at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney, the following daily events will be held:
* Daily Mass
* Sacrament of Reconciliation (Mon-Fri)
* Chapel and Museum open for visiting
* Evening Vigil prayer
* Official Pilgrimage Week to Mary MacKillop Place
* Musical tribute to Mary MacKillop
The NSW woman who received the "miracle" that allowed Mary MacKillop to be made a saint is going to meet the Pope, the Daily Telegraph reports. Kathleen Evans (pictured) has spent the best part of the nearly 20 years since her cure supporting cancer patients.
In the excitement related to the canonisation of Bl Mary MacKillop in Rome on Sunday, she has become the focus of attention for Australian Catholics. But what of the others who will have their names written into the Canon of Saints of the universal church on October 17? Who were they, and what did they do to deserve recognition from the Vatican?
In the picturesque town of Fort William, in the west highlands of Scotland, two Josephite nuns are helping Scots feel some ownership of Australia's first saint, whose parents were born in the country. The town has become an important site for many Australian Catholics on their pilgrimage to Rome.
Commercial television networks are praying for a Mary MacKillop ratings bonanza after signing deals with "miracle" recipients to headline blanket coverage of the canonisation. Nine has sewn up Sophie Delezio and Seven has done a deal with Irish backpacker David Keohane who recovered from a coma.
Some 140 years after Mary MacKillop set up her first school in South Australia, a new generation of sisters is walking in her footsteps. Two convents where the Josephites lived are now home to sisters who have moved here from the US.
Beth Doherty (pictured left) has arrived in Rome in her capacity as media officer for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.
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Gospel Verse for 20 May 2013
Some 140 years after Mary MacKillop set up her first school in South Australia, a new generation of sisters is walking in her footsteps. Two convents where the Josephites lived are now home to sisters who have moved here from the US.