St. Mary MacKillop (Mother Mary of the Cross )

Ø  First Australian Saint Ø  Known as Mother Mary of the Cross Ø  Co-founder of The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart with Fr Julian Tenison Woods Ø  The first religious order in Australia Ø  The Josephite nuns became colloquially known as the Brown Joeys.
Born	On 15th  January 1842 at Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia
Died	On 8th  August 1909 at Sydney, Australia following a stroke
Venerated	On 13th  June 1992 by Pope John Paul II
Beatified	On 19th  January 1995 by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	On 17th  October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI
Feast	8th  August

Mary Helen MacKillop  was born on 15 January 1842 in Fitzroy, Melbourne, the eldest of eight children of Alexander McKillop and Flora, nee McDonald.                  Mary was educated at private schools but chiefly by her father who had studied for the priesthood at Rome. To help support her family, she worked as a nursery governess and store clerk while still in her teens. Tutor in Melbourne, Australia. Teacher at the Portland School in 1862. Established a “Seminary for Young Ladies” in her home. Known for her holiness, her constant work in the local church, and for turning to prayer before making decisions.                Mary and her sister moved to Penola, South Australia. There Mary met Father Julian Tennison Woods with whom she opened a free Catholic school for the poor. Co-founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1866; it was Australia‘s first religious order. It had a mission educate poor children in remote areas, and the Sisters received episcopal approval in 1868. Mother Mary soon had seventeen schools under her care.           Mary’s independence and social ideas concerned Church authorities, and she was ordered by her bishop, who believed some exaggerated stories about the educator, to surrender control of the schools and her Order. She refused, and was excommunicated in 1871. Mary was crushed, but never blamed Church officials, In 1872 her bishop, having determined the baseless nature of the accusations, apologized, and returned Mary to full communion.          She visited Pope Blessed Pius IX in 1873, and travelled through England, Ireland and Scotland to seek funds for her schools. Superior-general of her Order in 1875. She travelled from house to house in the Order for the rest of her life, working to improve education for the poor, and general conditions for the Aborigines. She was a prolific correspondent, over 1,000 of Mary’s letters have survived. Her order continues its good work today with hundreds of Sisters in Australia, New Zealand, and Peru.          MacKillop died on 8 August 1909 in the Josephite convent in North Sydney. Beatified On 19th January 1995 by Pope John Paul II and canonized on  17th  October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.