St Mary MacKillop statue located at St Mary of the Cross Square opposite Mary’s birth site in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne – one of the sites visited on the Australian National Pilgrimage.

In the Footsteps of Mary MacKillop – Bookings for Australian National Pilgrimage Now Open

Mary MacKillop Place and the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart are delighted to welcome back pilgrims to its popular Australian National Pilgrimage: In the Footsteps of Mary MacKillop. The next pilgrimage will be running from 18 – 29 October 2022 and will visit many places associated with Mary MacKillop’s life and ministry in Victoria, South Australia and Sydney.

The Pilgrimage is run by Mary MacKillop Place and will be led by a Sister from the Sisters of Saint Joseph and the inaugural Director of the Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre, East Melbourne.

“The notion of going on a pilgrimage and being a pilgrim is a very ancient one that belongs to the spiritual tradition of all great faiths,” says Sr Anne Bond rsj, Assistant Director, Mary MacKillop Place.

“A pilgrimage is a very personal experience, but it is usually a journey with others: seeking, listening, reflecting and seeing the hand of God at work in our own lives.

“The National Pilgrimage is a unique opportunity for pilgrims to enter more deeply into Mary MacKillop’s and Fr Julian Tenison Wood’s stories and spirituality and to appreciate Mary’s role as our first canonised Australian Saint.”

The Australian National Pilgrimage will begin in East Melbourne on 18 October and conclude at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney on 29 October. Along the way pilgrims will visit historic sites and towns including Portland, Penola, Robe and the Mary MacKillop Chapel in North Sydney.

Get in early! The current prices are fixed until 30 June 2022. After this date prices may need to be negotiated dependent on oil and fuel costs. More details on the Pilgrimage and prices can be found by clicking on the link below.