Pope to Visit Australian Shrine

Benedict XVI will visit the shrine of Australia's Blessed Mary MacKillop during his visit to Sydney in July. The visit was confirmed by Vatican officials, in Sydney this week to inspect planning and preparations for World Youth Day 2008.

"Today we can confirm that the Holy Father will visit the tomb of Blessed Mary MacKillop, one of WYD08's 10 patrons," said Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher, coordinator of the event. "Mary MacKillop's story of serving the poor and the uneducated is inspiring to all Australians and we hope she will also inspire the youth of the world."

The apostolic nuncio to Australia, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, confirmed the Holy Father will pray at MacKillop's tomb in North Sydney during his stay.

"The Holy Father will be one of the thousands of pilgrims who will visit her shrine in July," Archbishop Lazzarotto said. "He will pray for Australia and the young pilgrims of the world so that they may be filled with the Holy Spirit and be witnesses to Christ."

Mary MacKillop was a 19th century nun who was a pioneer of Australia's Catholic school system. Her misunderstandings with Catholic bishops of the time led to her excommunication (which was soon lifted) and later on banishment from the city of Adelaide, among other things.
This never stopped the Melbourne born religious and social worker, from her tireless work in the order she co-founded, the Sisters of St Joseph on behalf of poor and abandoned children. MacKillop lived her concluding years in Sydney, where her burial spot in North Sydney is now a site of pilgrimage, already visited by Paul VI, and John Paul II when he came to the city to beatify her in 1995.
Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney said on the weekend however, that it is most unlikely that she will be canonized during the Holy Father's visit, despite the pleas of her many devotees.