Tiny Saints - St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop - Patron of Australia

Mary MacKillop co-founded Australia's first order of nuns, the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, in 1866. The sisters stared their work in a converted stable, providing free education to children of any background. They soon opened an orphanage, a refuge for women released from prison, and ministries for the homeless. A force for the message of Christ's love, Mary's intelligence, leadership, passion and autonomous spirit shook up the Church in Australia. In the end, Mary's holiness was her legacy. In 1909, upoin his last visit to her, Cardinal Moran stated, "Today, I believe that I have assisted at the death bed of a saint."