The Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop – 8 August

This Sunday, the Catholic Church honours and celebrates the feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop. Feast Days are held on the date that the saint has died. St Mary of the Cross Mackillop is the Patron of one of Carroll College’s Houses, MacKillop House (Blue House). Patrons and Patron Saints are important in Catholic schools as they provide the community with role models of faith and evidence of the fact that people can live both an ordinary and an exceptional life.

In her biography on the Sydney Catholic Schools website we learn that,

Mary MacKillop was born in 1842 in Fitzroy, Melbourne. On 8 August 1909, she died, having suffered a disabling stroke in 1902. Inspired by a meeting with Fr. Julian Tenison-Woods, Mary MacKillop took her vows at the age of twenty five, and the religious name, “Mary of the Cross”. In doing so, she founded the congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph. Soon after taking her religious vows, Mary MacKillop founded several schools. Within five years of taking her vows and founding the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Mary had established over thirty schools in South Australia. By that time, more than one hundred women had joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph.

Mary worked most especially with the children of the poor and she is credited with many words of wisdom including, “Never see a need without doing something about it.” This brief profile of her life illustrates Mary’s dedication to education, service and faith. Valuing education, care of others and faith are things we wish for our students at Carroll College and so makes Mary of the Cross a wonderful choice as a Patron for our community. 

St Mary of the Cross is Australia’s first, and only, saint. She was canonised (made a saint) by Pope Benedict XVI on 17 October 2010. In 2013, she was also given the title, Patron Saint of Australia, a patronage she shares with Mary Help of Christians.

Since May 2020, Parishes across Australia have been praying a prayer to entrust Australia to the care and protection of Mary Help of Christians during the Covid-19 Pandemic. As our nation continues to struggle with this disease, we continue to make this prayer.

Erica Drewsen
Religious Education Coordinator