Mother Mary MacKillop To Become Australia’s First Saint
February 21st, 2010 - 10:09 pm ICT by GDBy Madhuri Dey
Vatican City, Feb 21, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Mother Mary MacKillop is going to be heralded as the first Roman Catholic saint from Australia, it has been announced by the Pope Benedict XVI. The canonization had initially been briefly contested by some groups, who had claimed that the title of sainthood should not be conferred upon Mother Mary MacKillop. The protest had been held on two grounds, one, the belief that no miracles are associated with her, one of the key factors that determine the possibility of sainthood of a person, and two, because she had been excommunicated, for a brief span of time, from the church, on the basis of insubordination.
The canonization of Mother Mary MacKillop is going to be held on Oct 17 of this year, along with the conferring of sainthood on five others: two nuns from Italy, a monk hailing from Quebec, a Pole and a Spaniard. The news has sent thrills in the religious circles of Australia, and according to Maria Casey, who pioneered the movement for the cause of the sainthood of Mother Mary MacKillop, the announcement can be regarded as “coming of age” for the country, both in a religious and political sense.
Tim Fischer, Australia’s ambassador to the Holy See, commented that the canonization is going to help a lot in taking the knowledge of the life and works of Mother Mary MacKillop beyond Australia. The canonization of Mother Mary MacKillop was decided after two miracles were found that were attributed to her. One was discovered by the Pope John Paul II, and the other by Pope Benedict XVI himself. The Prime Minister of the country, Kevin Rudd expressed his gratitude at having the honor bestowed upon the country.
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Tags: benedict xvi, canonization, catholic saint, city feb, coming of age, dey, insubordination, john paul ii, kevin rudd, madhuri, mother mary, political sense, pope benedict, pope benedict xvi, pope john paul, pope john paul ii, religious circles, sainthood, tim fischer, vatican city