Mary MacKillop Unveiled

Australia’s First Saint

Author: Lesley O’Brien   Price: $30.00 plus postage and handling

Aiming to make this compelling story of church politics and Christian service available to all Australians, Lesley O’Brien presents a moving account of the life and times of Mary MacKillop. She reveals the extraordinary story of the ‘bold’ woman behind the veil, once outlawed by the church hierarchy and now held up by the same church as a model for others. Mary is indeed a model of courage and selflessness. Her egalitarian vision and penetrating social conscience have a special relevance for Australians of our own time.

Mary MacKillop was a tenacious woman who let nothing stand in the way of her care for the underprivileged. As a young woman in the 1860s, guided by the charming but eccentric priest, Julian Tenison Woods, Mary established a unique form of Australian religious life dedicated to the service of the poor, especially through the education of their children.

Mary’s singular vision and determination led her into conflict with the leading churchmen of her day. As bishops and priests – including those who had once been her closest allies – attempted to wrestle control of the Sisters of St Joseph from her, Mary stood steadfast in her convictions, even when excommunicated from her beloved Catholic Church and accused of alcoholism. It was a battle she was prepared to take all the way to the Vatican itself.

With the official recognition of Mary as Australia’s first saint, attention turns to the question: ‘Who was this woman?’ Mary MacKillop, a woman of strength, humour and compassion, does not disappoint.

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