There where you are you will find God
Mary Helen MacKillop (1842-1909) was born on 15 January 1842 in Fitzroy, Melbourne, the eldest of eight children of Alexander MacKillop and Flora MacKillop, née McDonald.
From the age of 16, Mary greatly supported her family working as a governess and teacher. While acting as a governess to her uncle’s children, Mary met Father Julian Tenison Woods who needed help in the religious education of children in his parish located in rural South Australia. In 1866, greatly inspired and encouraged by Father Woods, Mary opened the first St Joseph’s School in a disused stable in Penola.
At the age of 24, Mary dedicated her life to God as a religious sister and took on the name ‘Mary of the Cross’. Young women came to join Mary and so the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph began.
Mary MacKillop was a trailblazer in her lifetime, leaving a culture of exemplary living for her followers to emulate. Mary paved the way for education of poor children and a variety of ministries which addressed the needs of 19th century Australia.
Mary and these early Sisters, together with other religious orders and lay teachers of the time, had a profound influence on the forming of Catholic education as we have come to know and experience it today. Mary also opened orphanages and centres (Providences) to care for the homeless and destitute both young and old.
She died in North Sydney on 8 August 1909 and was canonised as a Saint on 17 October 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.
New ways of living the Josephite charism have emerged through chaplaincy, pastoral work and a myriad of ways of bringing healing and hope through spirituality, counselling, supervision and mentoring.
Mary MacKillop’s legacy holds more for the Sisters of Saint Joseph and followers than the way we minister. She encourages us to be people of justice and ecumenism. Mary inspires us to be courageous and hopeful and to have a deep faith in our God who provides.
For more information on the story of Mary MacKillop and the Sisters of Saint Joseph visit the Our Founding Story page.
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