08/04/2025
Saint of the Day
St. Mary MacKillop
DOB: 15 January 1842
DOD: 8 Aug 1909
Canonization: 17 Oct 2010
Patron Saint of: Australia and Archdiocese of Brisbane, officially. Unofficially, survivors of sexual abuse, LGBTQ+ clergy and communities
-Born in Australia to Scottish immigrant parents. Her father had to abandon his study for priesthood due to illness, so he stressed the importance of education to his children and homeschooled all eight of them. When she was 14, she became a teacher for her young cousins and a young priest, Fr. Julian Tenison Woods encouraged her to continue the work.
-In 1866, Martha and Fr. Woods founded Australia's first order of nuns, the Sisters' of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, and also established St. Joseph's School. In future years, the sisters opened more schools throughout Australia, an orphanage, and a refugee for women released from prison.
-The rest of her life was controversial, with Mary butting heads with priests and bishops due to her wanting her and her institutions to be self governed and not accept any funding. She and the sisters garnered mor controversy when Mary reported accounts of alleged abuse of an Irish priest in Southern Australia. Despite the backlash, she never stopped working and looking out for those less fortunate.
