An Australian nun who died 100 years ago looks set to become the nation’s first saint, after the Pope recognized a miracle in which she apparently cured a woman of cancer, officials said yesterday.
The “miracle,” in which a woman who prayed to nun Mary MacKillop was said to have been healed of inoperable lung cancer in the 1990s, opens the way for the Vatican to canonize a woman already revered in Australia as a national icon.
“Today is a special day not only for the Sisters but also for Australia and the universal Church,” said Anne Derwin, a nun with the Sisters of St Joseph order founded by MacKillop. “It is a day to acknowledge Mary, who is not only truly saintly but also one of Australia’s true heroes.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
MacKillop passed the first stage to sainthood when she was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 after having another miracle, in which a woman was said to have been cured of terminal leukemia, attributed to her.
Melbourne-born MacKillop, who established her first school in a disused stable and founded her order of nuns at the age of 24, is already known as “the Australian people’s saint,” Archbishop Philip Wilson said.
“She was one of us,” said Wilson, who is president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. “Mary was an ordinary person who lived a holy life.”
MacKillop, whose parents came to Australia from Scotland, spent her life educating the poor, taking learning to the harsh Outback.
But the pioneering educator and social reformer was not without controversy — MacKillop was excommunicated in 1871 for alleged insubordination before being welcomed back to the Church four months later.
She later sought Pope Pius IX’s approval to continue her work with her order and by the time of her death aged 67 in 1909, MacKillop led 750 nuns, ran 117 schools and had opened orphanages and refuges for the needy.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the development was a “deeply significant announcement for the 5 million Australians of Catholic faith and for all Australians whether of Catholic faith or not.”
“In a time when poverty was common and educational opportunities for young Australians very limited, Mary MacKillop worked to improve the lives of the marginalized, the homeless and the destitute throughout her life,” she said.
MacKillop’s supporters are now awaiting a decision from the Vatican on when she can be canonized, hoping the ceremony will take place in Rome next year.
Derwin said while MacKillop would not have expected the limelight, “it makes us feel excited that the gift she was given for the Church, for the world, is being recognized as valuable.”
“She was bold and tenacious and let nothing stand in the way of her care for others,” she said. “Her strength, humor and egalitarian vision have important relevance in today’s busy and complex times.”
The woman whose recovery from terminal lung cancer has been acknowledged as the second miracle said she felt personally humbled and grateful to MacKillop.
“I hope this news today provides others, especially younger Australians, with inspiration and encouragement to live as generously and as compassionately as Mary did,” the unnamed woman said in a statement read by Derwin.
Derwin said Pope Benedict XVI, who made visiting MacKillop’s memorial chapel in North Sydney a priority during his stay in Australia for youth celebrations last year, admitted to a great love for the Australian.
He was the third pope to pray at the tomb.
Meanwhile, in the tiny South Australian town of Penola where MacKillop founded her first school, local Catholics celebrated the news by ringing the church bells for five minutes.
“We’re pinching ourselves, asking has it really happened,” chair of the Mary MacKillop Penola Centre Claire Larkin said.
Also See: Controversial pope closer to sainthood
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese