As my faithful readers have already noticed, I'm always on the lookout for human interest stories about seemingly ordinary individuals, especially women, who do extraordinary things under extraordinary circumstances. Well, today I found a great one that comes all the way from Australia. Interestingly enough, its subject died over a century ago and is finally getting her due for all the tireless, selfless, and occasionally controversial work she did on behalf of the downtrodden and oppressed in the Land Down Under.
This individual is Mary MacKillop. Who is Mary MacKillop, you may ask? Mary MacKillop is Australia's first patron saint. Her canonisation, which will be formally declared Oct. 17, 2010, ends an 85-year debate over whether she deserved that honor. Mother Mary, who was beatified in 1995 after the Vatican recognized her role in two miracles, was actually excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1871 for alleged insubordination and a supposedly rebellious, egalitarian ethos. She was reinstated four months later. Mary died in 1909 at age 67. Despite a lifetime of battling ill health, she accomplished a great deal, including: helping Australia's poor, founding a school, and starting her own order of nuns-- the Sisters of St. Joseph-- in 1866. According to Sister Josephine Dubiel, a nun in Melbourne, Aus., Mother Mary's impending canonisation, which was announced via text message from Vatican City Friday, Feb. 19, is a career highlight for many nuns, who continue to benefit from Mary's work, charity, and zeal for education. I would go so far as to say that Mary's contributions to society are a highlight for history and humanity as a whole. (For more Mother Mary info, log onto: http://www.theage.com.au/national/in-canberra-and-the-bush-first-saint-finds-a-welcome-20100200-oms8.html. You can also find a plethora of Mother Mary facts on Google, Wikipedia, and Yahoo!.)
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