Summary

Order of service for the prayer service held as part of the celebration of Mary MacKillop's canonisation at the Royal Exhibition Building on Sunday 17 October 2010.
The service consisted of hymns, extracts from Mary MacKillop's writings, a procession, prayers, readings, a reflection given by Bishop Tim Costello SDB DD, and a litany of Saints ending in a live cross to the telecast of the Canonisation ceremony being held in Rome to include the six newest saints (including Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop), and a song "In Mary's Hands" by Mike Brady. Afterwards the telecast from St Peter's Basilica would continue.

There were several official events held in Melbourne on Sunday 17 October 2010 to celebrate the canonisation. The prayer service was held at six o'clock and included a live telecast of the canonisation ceremony in Rome at seven o'clock.

The booklet includes messages from Archbishop Denis Hart DD; the Victorian Premier The Hon John Brumby MP and the Minister Assisting the Premier on Multicultural Affairs The Hon James Merlino MP; and Sister Josephine Dubiel RSJ, Victorian Province Leader, Sisters of St Joseph. On the back of the booklet was an invitation to a Canonisation Thanksgiving celebration to be held at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Saturday 6 November 2010.

Physical Description

24 page full colour booklet with a coloured image of Mary MacKillop in full Nun's habit on the cover.

Significance

Mary MacKillop (later to be known as Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop) became Australia's first saint on Sunday 17 October, 2010. She was canonised by Pope Benedict XVI at a ceremony held at the Vatican in Rome, an event televised live around the world. The process that led to her canonisation had begun a long time before. She died in 1909 and was called a 'saint' by Cardinal Moran on her deathbed, but the formal process did not begin until 1926. This process required, amongst much other evidence, the acceptance by the Vatican of two 'miracles' attributed to her intercession. Although she was born in Victoria, she spent much of her life in New South Wales and South Australia. Her canonisation was a significant event for all Catholic Australians and for the people of Australia more broadly, as she was not only the first Catholic saint but was also a woman. A community event was held at the Royal Exhibition Building (REB) on the day of her canonisation in Rome, and the ceremony was attended by Julia Gillard, Australia's first female Prime Minister. This collection was donated by members of her religious order, the Sisters of St. Joseph, whose mother house is in North Sydney. As well as being a major REB event, the collection has religious, social, public history and local community connections.

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