Mary MacKillop

Lore & Background

Mary Helen MacKillop was born on 15 January 1842 in what is now the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria, to Alexander MacKillop and Flora MacDonald. When she was baptised six weeks later she received the names Maria Ellen. She was the eldest of eight children. Her father, Alexander, had studied for the priesthood but left before ordination and migrated to Australia in 1838.

Her mother, Flora, arrived in Melbourne in 1840. MacKillop was educated at private schools and by her father. She started work at age 16 as a clerk, then in 1860 became a governess in Penola, South Australia, where she taught farm children. In 1866, Fr Julian Tenison-Woods invited her to open a Catholic school in Penola.

On 21 November 1866, she and several other women formed the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, adopting a rule emphasizing poverty and dependence on divine providence. The congregation expanded rapidly, opening schools and welfare institutions across South Australia and Queensland. MacKillop clashed with Bishop James Quinn of Brisbane over control of schools, leading to the sisters leaving his diocese in 1880, though they later returned to the new Diocese of Rockhampton. She died on 8 August 1909.

Reader's Guide

The process to have MacKillop declared a saint began in the 1920s. She was beatified in January 1995 by Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008.

In December 2009, the Catholic Church recognized a second miracle attributed to her intercession. She was canonised on 17 October 2010 in St Peter's Square at the Vatican. She is the first Australian Catholic saint and the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Brisbane and of Australia.

Did You Know?

• Her mother, Flora, died in 1886 when the steamer SS Ly-ee-Moon sank at Green Cape, New South Wales.
• MacKillop's brother Donald became a Jesuit priest and worked among Aboriginal peoples in the Northern Territory.
• The Josephite sisters were colloquially known as the 'Brown Joeys' due to their plain brown religious habit.