Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillopPrint Page 
The monument commemorates the canonisation of Australia`s first saint, Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, co-founder of the Josephite Order. The memorial is located near the site of a refuge established by the Sisters of St Joseph which operated from 1870 to 1872.
Mary Helen MacKillop RSJ (1842 – 1909), now known as St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, was an Australian nun who has been declared a saint by the Catholic Church. Of Scottish descent, she was born in Melbourne, but was best known for her activities in South Australia. Together with Reverend Julian Tenison Woods, she founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (the Josephites), a congregation of religious sisters that established a number of schools and welfare institutions throughout Australasia, with an emphasis on education for the rural poor.
After the founding of the Josephites, Bishop Sheil appointed Woods as director general of Catholic education. Woods came into conflict with some of the clergy over educational matters and local clergy began a campaign to discredit the Josephites. Father Charles Horan met with Bishop Sheil on 21 September 1871 and convinced him that the Josephites' constitution should be changed; the following day, when MacKillop apparently did not accede to the request, Sheil invalidly excommunicated her, citing insubordination as the reason.
Though the Josephites were not disbanded, most of their schools were closed in the wake of this action. Forbidden to have contact with anyone in the church, MacKillop lived with a Jewish family and was also sheltered by Jesuit priests. On his deathbed, Sheil instructed Horan to lift the excommunication on MacKillop. On 21 February 1872, he met her on his way to Willunga and absolved her in the Morphett Vale church. Later, an episcopal commission completely exonerated her.
Location
| Address: | Maitland Street & St Michaels Road, Mitcham, 5062 |
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| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.977724 Long: 138.625918 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
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| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Religion |
| Link: | http://adb.anu.edu.au/ |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Sunday 17th October, 2010 |
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In 1866 Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop became the first member of the Order of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart which she co- founded with Father Julian Tenison Woods in that year.
In 1867 they established a Refuge for women in distress in the city. The premises they were renting proved inadequate and in 1870 they moved to a 'country house' that provided accommodation for twenty or more ' penintents.'
This house, since demolished, stood on six hectares of land and was adjacent to the Catholic Church / School building which stood on the corner of Maitland Street and St Michael`s Road.
The Sisters of St Joseph continued to operate the Refuge on this site until 1872, when it moved to Norwood. Saint Mary visited here during September 1878. The Church / School moved to Kingswood in 1914.
This plaque commemorates the canonisation of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop on 17 October 2010
