Six Little Stories About Mary Mackillop

In July 1872 three Sisters of St Joseph and one lay woman arrived at The Vale, a village near Bathurst, New South Wales. They had come from Adelaide in response to an invitation from the Catholic bishop of Bathurst to establish a foundation of the newly founded Congregation in his diocese--the first Josephite foundation in New South Wales. Sister Teresa McDonald was the leader or Superior of the founding community. Born in Scotland in 1838, she had come to Australia with her parents finally settling in Adelaide. A friend of both Father Julian Tenison Woods and Mother Mary MacKillop, she joined the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867. This book explores her early life and her time as a Sister of St Joseph in Adelaide where she served as the first Provincial of the Congregation in South Australia. It also gives particular attention to Teresa's short years at The Vale, her struggle with ill health and her death in January 1876.

Sisters of St Joseph Clare Ahern and Anne Boland joined the Aboriginal community at Yaruman (Ringer Soak) on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert, Western Australia, in 1984. How could they relate, in a real way, ideas in the Gospel that depended on an understanding of a foreign, middle-eastern culture? After reflection and prayer, the following became the central message, Mark 1:15; This is the word, Jesus gave to everyone. He called it Good News. God is going to change things. A good time is coming close-up for everyone. Be sorry for the bad things you do. Keep thinking good things in your heart. Do these good things. Believe the good word, I tell you that a good time is coming up for everyone. Do you have a belief in the Rights of others and the passion, commitment and dedication to help make these Rights a reality? Then this book is an exceptional read! I urge you to read, enjoy and advocate, to make our world a better place for everyone. Dr Alitya Rigney Dip. T., P.S.M.

This is the sixth collection to be published. It focusses on the time not long after Mary MacKillop's excommunication when she was encouraged to go to Rome to seek approval for the Rule of the Sisters of St Joseph. Mary set off alone, travelling incognito, with little money and no knowledge of where to stay or how she would travel. Her letters and her diary during 1873 show her amazing trust in the Providence of God as well as her very human feelings of loneliness, her worry about the Sisters back in Australia and her delight in visiting the holy places especially St Peter's Basilica. Little did Mary MacKillop dream that in 2010 thousands would gather in St Peter's Square to see her photo hanging from the Basilica as she was proclaimed a Saint by Pope Benedict XVI.

There has been little written about Tenison Woods who as a significant figure in Australian Catholic Church life at the time of St Mary Mackillop, Australia's first Catholic Saint. This is a story about the work of the Sisters of St Joseph, an Australian Catholic Religious Order of women, founded by St Mary Mackillop, in Tasmania. An intriguing story of a group of women who were not part of the Centralised Josephite Sisters under Mary Mackillop, who for a variety of reasons were under the diocesan Catholic Bishop in Tasmania. The books documents their 125 year history from foundation right through to Vatican approval of the being brought under the Federation of Josephite Sisters in Australia.

A picture book series about the extraordinary men and women who have shaped Australian history, including St Mary Mackillop. Mary MacKillop is Australia’s first saint. Mary was born in the 1800s and devoted her life to teaching children. Mary believed everyone should have the chance to learn, no matter how rich or poor they are. In 1866 she set up her first school and founded an order of nuns called the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The Sisters continue to do the good work Mary started.