Who is Mary MacKillop?
Mary MacKillop founded the Sisters of St Joseph in 1866 with a ministry dedicated to educating the children of the poor. The order expanded across Australia, extending its ministry to orphaned and neglected children, and homeless and destitute people of all ages. Mary met opposition from some people within the Catholic Church and for a period was exiled from the Church. She was beatified (declared a saint within Australia) in 1995, when her first miracle, the healing of a woman with leukaemia, was formally recognised. A second miracle is required for her to be canonised as a saint worldwide. In 2009, investigations into the second miracle are being examined by the Vatican.
