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.

Aiming to make this compelling story of church politics and Christian service available to all Australians, Lesley O'Brien presents a moving account of the life and times of Mary MacKillop. She reveals the extraordinary story of the 'bold' women behind the veil, once outlawed by the church hierarchy and now held up by the same church as a model for others. Mary is indeed a model of courage and selflessness. Her egalitarian vision and penetrating social conscience have a special relevance for Australians of our own time. With the official recognition of Mary as Australia's first saint, attention turns to the question: 'Who was this woman?' If Australians are to have a saint, they want one of flesh-and-blood, one truly their own. Mary MacKillop, a woman of strength, humour and compassion, does not disappoint.

Blessed Mary MacKillop (15 January 1842 - 8 August 1909), of Scottish descent, was an Australian Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. This book delves deeply into what inspired this great Australian.

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.

Australia's First Saint.Many words have already been written about Mary Mackillop and many more will follow. This text provides insight into the life and work of a woman whom so many Australians now recognize one of their own - an ‘Aussie Battler' in the richest sense of the term. In the face of poverty, hardship, misunderstanding and powerful opposition, she remained faithful to her vision and to her calling to serve people.The Story of Mary MacKillop will appeal to young people, providing them with sufficient background for appreciating the life and contribution of one woman to her family, her church and her nation. Mary can be viewed as a pioneer woman, an educationalist, a feminist, a political realist, a champion of the underprivileged. The list of her attributes, like her contribution to the rights of marginalized Australians is a lengthy one.Each one of us has a genuine need for authentic role models to encourage us and inspire us. In Mary MacKillop, we are presented with a very ordinary Australian woman whose story is a touchstone for so many of this country and therein lies both her accessibility and her appeal, Immigrant parents, difficult family circumstances, financial hardships, hopes put on hold --- these are some of the aspects of her life that we recognize - if not in ourselves then in the lives of others we know.

The Black Dress is the incredible story of Mary MacKillop, an unconventional young woman born into a time and a religion bound by convention. What Mary did with her life would change the course of Australia's history.

She is old now and dying but once she was young - young and poor and drawn desperately to another life. The Black Dress is the incredible story of Mary MacKillop, an unconventional young woman born into a time and a religion bound by convention. What Mary did with her life would change the course of Australia's history.

Biography of Mary MacKillop.