St Mary MacKillop Information Report
By Jia and Sierra
Mary MacKillop was born in 1842 in Melbourne, Australia.
Her parents, Flora & Alexander were from Scotland. Mary was the eldest out of her siblings. She was well educated by her father. Her father had great difficulty with his health.
When Mary was eighteen she moved to Penola, in South Australia to start work to support her family. She became a governess (teacher) to her cousins in 1860. In Penola she met Father Julian Tenison Woods. Father Julian had the same dream as Mary. Julian Tenison Wood was a priest. Julian needed help from Mary with establishing Religious Education in schools.
Mary dreamed of educating children in Catholic schools. In 1867, she became the first sister. She wore a black dress, in March 1888. Mary and Julian’s dream became a reality. The first school was in a barn. She also would say to the sister’s “Never see a need without doing anything about it”.
They opened schools for the poor people which were free for everyone. They made orphanages for the people that don’t have parents. Mary wanted to help everyone and make people feel special. Then one day a bishop came to Mary. Bishop Shiel misunderstood Mary and excommunicated her from the church. He thought Mary was being disobedient. In the past Bishop Shiel expelled 47 sisters. Five months later Mary and the forty seven sisters were welcomed back again.
As she got older, Mary suffered from rheumatism. After a stroke, in 1902 she was paralysed on her right side and had to get around in a wheelchair. She continued to believe in God.
Mary passed away in a convent on Mount Street in Sydney, Australia. She died on the 8th of August 1909.
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