After dedicating more than 25 years of his life to her cause, Australian Jesuit Father Paul Gardiner says Mary MacKillop's canonisation is a celebration of God in our country, as well as blessing the life of MacKillop.
‘It's proof to all people that God can do it here', he says. ‘The achievement of Mary MacKillop in her life was great and wonderful. But the great achievement is God's achievement in a human soul like Mary's.'
Fr Gardiner was appointed as the postulator for MacKillop's cause in 1983. He spent six years researching and digesting the documents prepared about her life, before putting together the case for her canonisation. The case was later published as a book, Mary MacKillop: An extraordinary Australian.
He says that while MacKillop did a great deal in setting up schools and working for those in need, what impressed him most in getting to know her story was her deep spiritual life and union with God.
‘She considered herself a contemplative', he says.
The other thing that stood out about MacKillop was her ability to withstand the negative events in her life. When she stood up to the bishops, Fr Gardiner says MacKillop wasn't - as some might suggest - a rebel against authority, or even a feminist. Her actions were those of someone with a deep respect for the authority of the Church, and were made according to the law and the vows she had taken.
‘There is no one in Australia's history you could point to, I think, who had more respect for law and authority than Mary MacKillop', says Fr Gardiner. ‘To try to twist her into some sort of ideology is an abuse.'
Even when submitting to the excommunication, MacKillop acted with respect for the authorities.
‘She was never excommunicated, it was all invalid, but she acted out of respect to the bishop as though she were. She said, "God will bring good out of evil"', says Fr Gardiner.
‘The way she handled that, going through it, is a convincing argument to look a bit further at what was driving this woman. How did she do this, was it a natural bent to her soul, or was there something else there? And the something else of course was her close union with God.'
Retiring as postulator in 2008, Fr Gardiner is currently based at the Mary MacKillop Centre in Penola, South Australia. He has travelled to Rome for the canonisation on 17 October, and will concelebrate the canonisation Mass with Pope Benedict XVI.
He says he is looking forward to seeing the thousands gathered in the square outside St Peter's Basilica as the banner of MacKillop is unfurled.
‘What I'm looking forward to is the emotional reaction to seeing it all, remembering Mary MacKillop as the young Australian girl who was visiting Rome on her own, trying to get some sort of approval from the Holy See for her order and frequently visiting St Peter's.
‘Socially speaking, she was a nobody. Yet here she will be, being proclaimed by the world.'
By Michael McVeigh (first published 3 March 2010)
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