INSTEAD of “pretend play” as a butterfly or even a princess, in her childhood Brisbane’s Kate Cochrane said she “dressed up as Mary MacKillop”.
“I wanted to be Mary MacKillop,” a jovial Kate said at Pray 2010 following a “Praying with Movement” workshop she’d just led.
“But what did you use to dress up with?” I query.
“You get plastic bags – anything – so not to be wearing ‘street clothes’.
“I’ve always been into drama so that was my way of expressing myself.”
It’s that love for and knowledge of Australia’s first saint that has led the 24-year-old to secure one of eight sponsored Brisbane Catholic Education Office (BCEO) positions to attend Blessed Mary MacKillop’s canonisation in Rome on October 17.
“Mary’s life is deeply embedded in me – so much so I wanted to be a nun until I was in Year 10,” Kate, a former student of the Nundah Josephite schools of St Joseph’s (primary) and Corpus Christi College (secondary, now Mary MacKillop College) said.
“I would sit at the prayer table at lunch time.
“I couldn’t read until Year 4 but once I could I read the Bible as my silent reading and my home reading.
“It’s what I chose to do.”
Growing up on Brisbane’s northside and a current member of Chermside West parish, Kate said her mother and grandparents in particular encouraged faith without “forcing it”.
They supported her through a time when a career in education rather than a religious vocation became apparent.
“I woke up one morning and said, ‘I want to be a teacher’,” Kate said.
Having completed an arts degree Kate then went on to graduate last year as a teacher through the University of Central Queensland in Rockhampton.
So while the habit – or even the plastic bags – are set aside most days of the week for more formal teaching attire, Kate still feels “an unbreakable connection” with Blessed Mary MacKillop.
“Mary was my idol throughout school and I wanted to follow in her footsteps and teach children no matter who they were or where they came from,” she said.
“Her determination and courage has inspired me throughout my life.
“Mary was young and saw a need for an education system for the masses.
“She was ridiculed, excommunicated and shunned – yet she continued her work.
“It was not an easy journey that Mary undertook but she saw it through and it is thanks to her that I received the education I did and it was this story that inspired me to become an educator also.”
In her first year of teaching at Mary Immaculate, Annerley, Kate’s Year 1 class focuses on Blessed Mary MacKillop’s phrase, “Never see a need without doing something about it”.
“I demonstrate that to the kids in practical ways … like picking up rubbish or asking if they saw so-and-so crying.
“Now they quote it back to me saying, ‘Miss, I saw a need and did something about it’.”
Enjoying Pray 2010 (held from July 7-10 in Brisbane) and meeting many other teachers from around Australia, Kate said she was “honoured” to be asked to lead a workshop and even more so to be named as one of the eight heading overseas in October.
“The thought of being able to follow in Mary MacKillop’s footsteps, to see the parts of Italy that she visited all those years ago, sends tingles through my skin.
“I have always been a deeply religious person and believe that an experience like the one being offered is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to gain an even further spiritual bond with Australia’s first saint.”
The others chosen from Brisbane to attend the canonisation include principal of Our Lady of Fatima School, Acacia Ridge, Martyn Savage; teacher at Clairvaux MacKillop College, Upper Mt Gravatt, Gary Conwell; teacher at St Paul’s School, Woodridge, Ann Cullen; teacher at Our Lady of the Rosary School, Kenmore, Antonella Muscat; teacher at Assisi Catholic College, Upper Coomera, Laurel Ball; acting assistant principal for religious education at All Saints’ School, Albany Creek, Simon Mahaffy; and BCEO area supervisor Michael Kearney.
BCE executive director David Hutton said that, with “an overwhelming response” of more than 100 applicants to the offer of sponsored places, the choice was “extremely difficult”.
Applicants answered questions such as, “How would this experience assist your personal spiritual journey?” and “How would you see this experience informing and growing your vocation as a Christian educator?”
Asked what she’ll be thinking about at the canonisation Kate was her jovial self.
“I probably won’t believe it’s real,” she said.
“We’ve been hearing for years that they’ve been trying to have (Blessed) Mary canonised.
“But for it to be happening and for me to actually be there is just insane.
“I hope I don’t run out of battery (on the camera).”
