On October 17, Pope Benedict will Canonise Mary MacKillop. Here, Sr Clare Ahern RSJ reflects on the remarkable life of the woman to be known as St Mary of the Cross MacKillop

Amongst people of faith Mary is seen as a saint, a person who listened to the whisperings of God in her own heart and loved and trusted completely in God.

She is recognised for her holiness, her courage, her humility when maligned, her acceptance of and noble journey through the many crosses she endured even the painful and unjust excommunication of five months from the Church she dearly loved.

Mary treated all whom she met with dignity, respect, compassion, equality and justice and helped people with every means available to her.

She is remembered for the Religious Congregation she co-founded in 1866 at the age of 24 and the education system she established for the poor in Australia and New Zealand.

Her congregation is called the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart but is fondly known as The Josephites or The Brown Joeys because of the brown habits worn by the Sisters.

Remarkable

Mary MacKillop was a remarkable woman, a woman ahead of her time. She sent her sisters in twos and threes across the vast country of Australia to establish schools for the children of the outback and live amongst the poor.

They shared the dust, the heat and the flies, living in tin huts, tents and inadequate housing and make-shift schools to provide the poor with stepping stones to a better life. Before and after school the sisters visited the sick, the imprisoned and the lonely regardless of religion, race or social status. The sisters travelled wherever there was a call from the poor and needy.

Unfortunately the freedom to answer this call was challenged by some of the bishops who wanted the sisters confined to specific dioceses and under their control.

As a result of these difficulties Mary travelled to Rome in 1873 and received approval for the new Constitutions for her congregation. Some of the bishops would not accept the Constitutions and persisted for the following 15 years in asking Rome to change the central government of the congregation to diocescan controlled government. In 1888 Pope Leo settled the matter by making the congregation a canonical one with its headquarters in Sydney.

Throughout those years Mary and her sisters stayed faithful to their calling and the congregation spread throughout Australia and New Zealand. By the time of Mary's death at the age of 67 in 1909 there were 750 sisters and many schools and institutions throughout both countries.

Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne in 1842 and was the eldest of eight children. She was the child of Scottish emigrants.

The MacKillop children grew up in a dysfunctional family and had an unsettled childhood due to the many failed business dealings of their father and his frequent absences from the family.

They were often in need or had to live with their relatives but they were well educated in their faith and school studies by their father.

At the age of 14, Mary began working as a clerk and subsequently became the main provider for the family. When she was 18 she moved to Penola in South Australia to be governess to her young cousins and there she met Fr Julian Tenison Woods with whom she shared her desire to serve God and educate the poor. He invited her to open a school for the poor and so began the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.

Irish connection

Irish women have been part of the story of Mary MacKillop's congregation since its beginnings. Mary founded her congregation in 1866 and by 1871 there were 78 Irish sisters in the group of 137 Josephities.

Some of these Irish women emigrated to Australia with their families and others travelled alone. Mary came to our Irish shores in 1874 and returned to Australia with 15 Irish women to join her congregation.

Over the history of the Josephite Congregation 707 out of 3,765 professed sisters were Irish. Many of those sisters were as young as 14 when they left their homes. Some of them never saw family or country again but all of them contributed to the growth of the Church in Australia and New Zealand and in later years Peru. They made outstanding contributions to the education of children and adults and have been honoured by various governments for their dedication.

Today there are 40 Josephites in Ireland who have lived for many years in Australia, New Zealand or Peru. They are scattered around the country in Sligo, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Tipperary and Dublin. They continue to fulfil the mission of Mary MacKillop to relieve suffering and bring hope wherever they are and nowadays they are looking forward with joy to the canonisation of Mary MacKillop on October 17 in Rome.

Today many young Irish graduates and unemployed are emigrating to Australia hoping to find employment. The family members who are left behind feel the terrible pain of loss and worry about the emigrants.

In their sorrow they can pray through the intercession of the Australian Mary MacKillop asking her to care for their family members. They can encourage them to pray at Mary's tomb near the Sydney Harbour Bridge or to visit the Mary MacKillop Centres in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth asking for success and happiness in the land they have now adopted.

Mary's parents were emigrants from the Scottish Highlands so she experienced the pain of her family starting a new life in hard times in a country ripe with unemployment.

Today she will understand the Irish emigrants, their homesickness and the anxiety of having little or no money. Mary will help as she helped David Keohane from Cork. See testimonials on www.marymackillop.org.au

The following website gives excellent information on Mary MacKillop and the upcoming canonisation: www.marymackillop.org.au To take a virtual tour of Mary's tomb in North Sydney go to Mary MacKillop Place in the gallery section of the previous website. To find out more about the congregation she founded see www.sosj.org.au.

To ask the Sisters of St Joseph in Ireland to pray for your concerns and intentions through the intercession of Mary MacKillop contact marymackillopireland@gmail. com