It is good to keep us on our toes.
Sr. Christina is rejoicing all the more in her community in Queensland, AU.
Donald.
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: father patrick . . .
Sent: Wed, 13 October, 2010 17:51:56
Subject: Scottish Pilgrims
Scottish pilgrims making voyage to Rome for Mary MacKillop canonization
Bishop Joseph Toal and Bl. Mary MacKillop
Marking the Scottish ancestry of Bl. Mary MacKillop – who is about to become Australia’s first saint – over 100 pilgrims from Scotland will travel to Rome this month for her highly anticipated canonization. The Archdiocese of Glasgow announced Oct. 12 that close 140 people from Lochaber and various other places in the country will travel to Rome for Pope Benedict’s canonization of the 19th-century Australian sister on Oct. 17.
Although Bl. MacKillop was born in Melbourne, Australia, her family background is closely connected to Scotland, as both of her parents originated from the country. The Australian blessed’s father, Alexander, hailed from Perthshire, while her mother, Flora MacDonald, was born in Fort William in 1816.
Bishop Joseph Toal of Argyll and the Isles remarked on the upcoming event, saying, “we all feel very proud of the fact that Mary MacKillop, whose parents were from Lochaber, is to be proclaimed as a saint of the Church, indeed the first Australian to be recognized in this way.”
“It is a testimony to the faith passed on to Mary by her parents as they sought a new life in Australia – it is the Catholic faith held on to so tenaciously by pockets of believers across the Highland glens and Hebridean Isles,” the bishop said.
“St. Mary MacKillop of the Cross will be for all of us a great example of Christian witness, and a powerful intercessor before the Lord for all in need of consolation and hope.”
Among those traveling to Rome will be Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Bishop Ian Murray and Bishop Joseph Toal, along with several individuals who have family connections to Mary. Members of Blessed Mary’s Congregation of the Religious Sisters of the Sacred Heart who work in Scotland will also be making the trip.
Although Bl. MacKillop was born in Melbourne, Australia, her family background is closely connected to Scotland, as both of her parents originated from the country. The Australian blessed’s father, Alexander, hailed from Perthshire, while her mother, Flora MacDonald, was born in Fort William in 1816.
Bishop Joseph Toal of Argyll and the Isles remarked on the upcoming event, saying, “we all feel very proud of the fact that Mary MacKillop, whose parents were from Lochaber, is to be proclaimed as a saint of the Church, indeed the first Australian to be recognized in this way.”
“It is a testimony to the faith passed on to Mary by her parents as they sought a new life in Australia – it is the Catholic faith held on to so tenaciously by pockets of believers across the Highland glens and Hebridean Isles,” the bishop said.
“St. Mary MacKillop of the Cross will be for all of us a great example of Christian witness, and a powerful intercessor before the Lord for all in need of consolation and hope.”
Among those traveling to Rome will be Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Bishop Ian Murray and Bishop Joseph Toal, along with several individuals who have family connections to Mary. Members of Blessed Mary’s Congregation of the Religious Sisters of the Sacred Heart who work in Scotland will also be making the trip.
