Both Mary’s parents were born in the rugged Gaelic-speaking Highlands of Scotland where life was precarious and harsh. With regions gripped by economic collapse and evictions from ancestral lands, the only options were destitution or emigration.
It was Mary’s father, Alexander MacKillop, who first arrived as a bounty migrant to Australia in 1838.
Mary’s maternal grandmother, uncle and mother, Flora MacDonald, arrived in Melbourne with their ship flying the dreaded yellow flag that signalled the presence of typhus fever. They spent weeks in quarantine before being released in June 1840.
In his generosity, Alexander MacKillop offered the MacDonald’s hospitality in his small Fitzroy cottage. The fact that Alexander and Flora were married a month later may indicate their courtship had begun before both left the Scottish Highlands.
Melburnian living in the 1840s was a period of rapid growth and development for European settlers, marked by a booming economy, a flourishing population growth and the expansion of commercial services.
Both Mary’s parents had a strong trust in God. Alexander was well learned and for a time studied for the priesthood in Rome, Italy and Aberdeen, Scotland. Flora had a deep and resilient Catholic faith that deeply influenced her daughter. Two years later on 15 January 1842 they welcomed their first child, Mary Helen MacKillop.
It would be within months of Mary’s birth that her father, Alexander MacKillop, lost the house and the family’s savings due to poor investments, plunging them into chronic financial instability. Yet, God is in everything…
Dearest mamma, you ever taught me to look up to and depend on Divine Providence in every trouble and when you saw me dull or unhappy you always had the same sweet reminder for me. Ah do not now forget what you were the first to teach me.
Mary, the eldest of eight, grew up fast. She was well-educated, with her father providing much of her education. At 14, she became the primary earner for the family working as a shopgirl, then a governess, and later a teacher. Her own family’s poverty, combined with a desire to help others in need, fuelled her deep commitment to educating poor and disadvantaged children.
In September 1869 Mary wrote to her mother:
You used to tell me to love the Will of God – to submit to it in all things. Your words still often ring in my ears and I bless God that they were my mother’s words to me.
Mary with the spirit of charity, dedicated her life to educating the poor. In pursuit of this mission, in conjunction with Father Julian Tenison Woods, she established the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, an order that became a lasting testament to her work.
In 2010, the Vatican formally recognised her impact and sanctity, leading to her canonisation as Saint Mary of the Cross, a historic moment as she became Australia’s first canonised saint. Her legacy continues through the order she founded and her enduring status as a revered figure in Australian history.
Mary Moussa and Leah Campbell
Congregational Administration Services – NSW Region