Australia’s First Catholic Saint

On 17 October 2010, the canonisation of Mary MacKillop will be officially recognised by Pope Benedict XVI, making her Australia’s first Catholic Saint.

Mary MacKillop was born in Fitzroy, Melbourne on 15 January 1842. She co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart with Rev Julian Tenison Woods, both of whom are recognised for advancing Catholic education throughout Australia.

Mary died on 8 August 1909 and was buried in the Gore Hill Cemetery on the Pacific Highway, Sydney. On 27 January 1914 her remains were relocated to a Memorial Chapel in Mount Street, North Sydney.

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On 19 January 1995, Mary MacKillop was beatified, following the recognition that her intercession was responsible for the recovery of a woman with leukaemia in 1961. On 19 December 2009 a second miracle was recognised with the cure of another woman – Kathleen Evans – of lung cancer.

Following canonisation, Mary MacKillop will be known as Saint Mary of the Cross.