Posted on 02/20/2010 6:02:21 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Australian Catholics were celebrating the country's first saint Saturday after Pope Benedict XVI confirmed that a Melbourne-born nun was to be canonised.
Mary MacKillop, who founded her own order of nuns and devoted her life to building schools and helping the poor, has been a revered figure in Australia since shortly after her death in 1909.
"We are delighted that the goodness, the holiness of the life of Australian Mary MacKillop has been recognised by the Catholic Church throughout the world," said Anne Derwin, head of MacKillop's Sisters of St Joseph.
The Vatican had earlier recognised two miracles by MacKillop -- both involving women who had prayed to the late nun after being diagnosed with terminal illnesses and who subsequently recovered.
But the canonisation was not confirmed until Pope Benedict XVI made the announcement at a meeting of cardinals at the Vatican on Friday that MacKillop would be one of six people who would become saints on October 17.
Derwin said the sisters had been relaxing when a text message from one of their nuns in Rome came through with the canonisation news.
"We were sitting around having a cup of tea and thinking about, oh perhaps we should have been down in the chapel praying," she told reporters.
"And it was late, I had my phone, I kept looking because I was waiting for Sister Maria Casey to text me as soon as she could, and she did."
Derwin said MacKillop, who founded her first school in a disused stable in a remote south Australian town in 1866, was a bold and pioneering woman.
"To her, all people were equal," she said. "To her all people deserved a fair go. Her values and endeavours symbolise and reflect what it means to be Australian."(continued)
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Saint Barbie?
You are quite the putz.
C’mon — it was a light-hearted joke, with the best of intentions and love in my heart.
From the article, “... MacKillop, who was briefly excommunicated by the church for insubordination, ...” reminds one of 1988.
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