Mary Mackillop
The only Australian saint!
Mary Mackillop's early life
Mary Helen Mackillop was born on the 15th of Janurary 1842 in a suburb of Melbourne called Fitzroy in the state of Victoria. Her parents were named Alexander Mackillop and Flora Macdonald. Her parents baptised her when she was six weeks old and on her birth certificate it is written down that her name was Maria Ellen, but was always known as Mary. Her parents lived in Roybridge Scotland before moving to Australia. Mary visited Roybridge in the 1870s and also visited the local church, St Margrets. St Margrets now has a shrine to Mary.
Mary Mackillops parents
Alexander Mackillop was born in Perthshire, he was educated at Scots college in Rome and at Blairs College in Kincardineshire. At Blairs college he studied to be a priest but at the age of 29 he left and was about to be ordained, and instead decided to migrate to Australia. He managed to arrive in Sydney in 1838.