Saint Mary of the Cross Memorial ChapelPrint Page 
The Memorial Chapel was erected in memory of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop and holds the tomb of Mary MacKillop. The foundation stone of the chapel was laid in 1913 and opening ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of Sydney on the 18th January 1914.
On her death on 8 August 1909 Mary MacKillop was originally buried at Gore Hill cemetery, surrounded by previously departed Josephite nuns. Unfortunately, Mary's grave began to suffer from the love and excess devotion of the faithful, and concerns were raised when soil began to disappear from the gravesite. In 1914 it was decided to remove her remains to the present resting place at the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel, Mount Street, North Sydney.
Mary Helen MacKillop (15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909) was an Australian Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Since her death she has attracted much veneration in Australia and internationally.
MacKillop is the only Australian to have been beatified (in 1995 by Pope John Paul II). On 17 July 2008, Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008. On 19 December 2009, Pope Benedict XVI approved the Church's recognition of a second miracle attributed to her intercession. It was announced on 19 February 2010 that her canonisation would be formally declared on 17 October 2010, making her the first Australian saint.
After her canonisation she is now known as Saint Mary of the Cross.
Mother Mary of the Cross! How devotedly will that name be revered in the long, long ages that are at present wrapped in the mysterious robe of the future. Australia, shining in the Christian world as the bright star of the Southern Hemisphere, will have inscribed on her roll of saintly women the name of the late Mother Mary of the Cross, an Australian heroine, and foundress of the noble army of Sisters of St. Joseph. Already particulars of her self-sacrificing career have appeared in these columns. We have now to record a material monument, in the ceremony of the opening of the new Memorial Chapel by the Archbishop of Sydney in Mount-street, North Sydney, on Sunday, and alongside the Mother House.
Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW), 22nd January 1914.
Location
| Address: | Mount Street, Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney, 2060 |
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| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -33.838638 Long: 151.204962 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Structure |
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| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Religion |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Sunday 12th January, 1913 |
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J.M.J.
Memorial Chapel
To the late Mother Mary of the Cross
Foundress of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart
This stone was blessed and laid by His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Kelly Archbishop of Sydney
12th January 1913
