Fr. Bob Kus 
Today we look at a missionary hero who lived in both the 19thand 20thcenturies and has the honor of being the first Australian to be canonized. Her name was Mary MacKillop.
Mary was born in Australia on January 15, 1842 to a couple who had emigrated from Scotland to Australia and was the eldest of eight children. Her father, Alexander, had studied for the priesthood but just before ordination, at the age of 29, he left the seminary. One of Mary’s brothers, Donald, became a Jesuit priest, and her sister Lexie became a Religious Sister.
As a young person, Mary worked at various jobs to help the family out financially, for although her father was a very good man, he was never successful in his occupations as a farmer and politician.
In 1860, Mary went to work as a governess at her aunt and uncle’s place in South Australia, and there, she met a priest who would greatly influence her vocational journey – Fr. Woods. From this contact, Mary began to teach poor children on the advice of this priest. Soon, Mary had more than 50 children, and she decided God was calling her to be a Religious Sister.
In 1867, Mary became the first Sister and mother superior of a new order she founded – the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart. They were more frequently simply called the Josephite Sisters or, because of their brown habit, the “Brown Joeys.” In Religious life, she called herself Sr. Mary of the Cross.
The next few years were very difficult for Mary because of an incredible amount of drama caused by priest scandals, a bishop whose infirmities basically let his diocese become chaotic, clerical discord, clerical power struggles, and allegations of improper behavior. These years of Mary’s life could easily be made into a dramatic television series! The situation became so bad, in fact, that Sr. Mary of the Cross was actually excommunicated from the Church for a short period of time!
Fortunately, however, God was looking out for the Josephite Sisters, and by 1871, the Josephite Sisters had more than 130 members and were teaching in more than 40 schools in Australia. Sr. Mary’s Order was unique at the time in that the Sisters lived in the community and not formal convents, and they were under the authority of a Superior General, not a bishop.
In addition to teaching, the Josephite Sisters provided orphanages, cared for unwed mothers who had been rejected by their families, and worked with the aborigines. The Sisters are proud to say they provided social services that the Australian government could not provide at the time, and they provided these services to all – Catholics, Protestants, and those of no religion equally.
Sister Mary MacKillop died on August 8, 1909 and was canonized as the first Australian saint on October 17, 2010. Saint Mary MacKillop’s feast day is August 8th.
