For me the privilege of being in Rome for Mary MacKillop’s canonisation (17 October 2010) was the culmination of my Josephite journey to that point.
I was educated in primary and secondary school, and then teacher’s college with the Josephites. This gave me the opportunity to come to know the values and spirit of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. It helped me to be open, questioning and searching, the fertile ground to hear God’s call to me. My journey with the Josephites took me to many parts of New South Wales seeing ordinary people who, like my family, were the beneficiary of the commitment of so many of the Sisters.
In 2006, I was given the privilege of being the principal of the Mary MacKillop Memorial School in Penola, South Australia. This, the founding ground of the Congregation, was alive with the spirit of both Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods.
I spent many hours talking about Mary MacKillop with Fr Paul Gardiner SJ. Fr Paul prepared the documentation for Mary’s beatification and became the chaplain of the Mary MacKillop Interpretative Centre Penola.
Between 2006 and 2011, we celebrated many major events including the centenary of Mary’s death, Sydney’s World Youth Day 2008 and the canonisation. Each of these events helped deepen my understanding and love of this most extraordinary woman.
The canonisation event for me had many layers. The first was simply walking into St Peter’s Square and seeing Mary’s photo on the wall with those who were to be canonised the same day. Leading the first pilgrimage for the visitors around Rome was inspiring. It was an opportunity to listen to the stories of the pilgrims, their connection with Mary and why they travelled to Rome.
The actual Canonisation Mass was an amazing experience of the Universal Church, full of pomp, ceremony and ritual, something I can easily forget in day-to-day life in Australia. In this Mass I had the great honour of being in the Reliquary procession with Kath Evans and Ron Campbell. The excitement and joy of the people in St Peter’s Square was so tangible, I remember having tingles up my spine. It was also a reminder of the many peoples who make up our Church.
The Mass at St Paul’s outside the Walls for me was the celebration of the Australianness of Mary. Here with less pomp and ceremony, but with ritual connected to our land, we celebrated one of us who was recognised for her great love, devotion and never-failing commitment to the Will of God.
Fr Paul often used to say that Mary in her wheelchair unable to do things for herself “was a Saint at her best, she was doing the Will of God”. He also said that all who knew Mary said, ‘she was utterly kind’. To me the canonisation was a celebration of these two great qualities. My hope is I can follow in her footsteps by living out these qualities.
Niesha Allport rsj