THE life and legacy of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop is still standing tall in Brisbane.
Catholic students from across Brisbane archdiocese marched into St Stephen’s Cathedral holding their school flags high for St Mary of the Cross MacKillop at her feast day Mass today.
They joined a chorus of hundreds of Catholics who had travelled into the city from around Brisbane, each with a story to tell about St Mary.
The Mass was celebrated by Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge with Deacon Andrew O’Brien assisting, and included a choir from Mary MacKillop College, Nundah, readings by students and a special welcome to members of St Mary’s Josephite order.
In his homily, Archbishop Coleridge said St Mary was known to have loved people “even when they were at their worst”.
“Yet, Mary was no stranger to conflict through her life. She didn’t seek conflict. But it seemed to seek her.
“Mary’s conflict with some of the bishops of Australia, became a theme in her life, climaxing in her excommunication.”
He said the roots of the conflict were complex.
Core to the rift was her insistence on the central governance of the institute, not because she was power-hungry, but because she had “a clearer grasp of the needs of colonial Australia”.
“Mary had a deeper understanding of a church whose mission rejects every form of tribalism.
“A church in which there’s room for everyone at the table.
“That’s why we call the Church Catholic.
“It’s why the successor of Peter, Pope Francis, has put before a dangerously polarised world the Gospel vision of his encyclical letter, Fratelli Tutti – ‘Brothers and Sisters All’.”
He said she struck “a chord in surprising places because she had an unusual ability to meet people at the deep place of shared humanity”.
“That’s why her brother Donald could write towards the end of her life, ‘you have won the heart of Australia’.
“Nothing was more evident at the time of her canonisation, and no less evident in a celebration such as this.”
The solemnity of St Mary MacKillop is always one of the largest feasts on the Brisbane calendar.
Canonised in October 2010, St Mary MacKillop was an Australian religious sister who established the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, an order that prioritised rural education for poor and marginalised communities.
St Mary MacKillop’s legacy lives on through the Josephites and their work in education.
You can watch the full Mass here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdFxwLblWck
