Pope confirms her place in history

Australians do little by halves and Mary MacKillop, the daughter of Scottish immigrants, a woman of her time - and a figure devoted to redressing injustices pertinent still to our own - was given her nation's all.

As the Pope added her to the Book of Saints at 10.42am Rome time, framed by a blood red outdoor altar at the doors of the Basilica, Mother Mary's beloved Sisters of Joseph, many septuagenarians identifiable by their electric teal scarves, held lined faces to a similarly hued sky. Some quietly shed a tear, others literally glowed with pride.

"We inscribe them in the book of saints and state that throughout the church they will be devoutly honoured as saints. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" he said.

The rite of canonisation began with the request for inscription by the postulants and was followed by his solemn utterance in Italian: "In honour of the most holy Trinity, in exultation of the Catholic faith and the development of our Christian life, with the authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Apostles Peter and Paul and after long reflection, invoking divine help and listening to many of our brothers in the Episcopato, we declare and define [as] saints the Blessed Stanlisaw Kazimiercyk, Andre Bessette, Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola, Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Giulia Salzano and Battista da Varano."

Following the tradition of centuries, the relics of the new saints were then brought to the altar for blessing. Kathleen Evans, the grandmother whose cure from cancer was attributed to the miraculous powers of Mary MacKillop, carried a wooden cross containing a lock of the saint's hair, assisted by Ronald Campbell from Scotland and Sister Neisha Allport from Penola.

The other woman whose mysterious cure was attributed to Mary MacKillop, Veronica Hopson from the Blue Mountains, told Channel Seven last night that she believed her case was a miracle.

''Yes, I do,'' she said, ''because I got better and I had children and that gave me hope to go on.''

Mrs Hopson, now 72, was 23 when she became ill with myeloblastic leukaemia. She was given Mary MacKillop relics by local nuns and they prayed for her.

''How does a miracle feel? I feel very fortunate, very fortunate that I was given an opportunity to live my life.''

About 140 of MacKillop's order, including the "baby", Anne Marie Gallagher, 26, watched the canonisation of their founder after being chosen via a ''names in the hat'' lottery to make the trip of a lifetime, most from Australia, a few from Peru, East Timor and Scotland to see their founder canonised in Rome.

The heavens were kind, despite an earlier drizzle, as Gian Lorenzo Bernini's majestic piazza welcomed an extraordinary 50,000 faithful from all corners of the globe.

High above the visitors were images of Mary and five other saints-in-waiting - already unveiled as the veneration rituals had been completed. Mother Mary, fourth on the Pope's list and second from the right on the Basilica' s faç¸ade, was surrounded by saintly companions from Italy, Spain, Poland and Canada - all destined to be formal figures of worship not just by the believers of their own nations but by Catholics around the world.

Pope Benedict, who has canonised only 34 saints compared with the record 482 elevated by his predecessor, John Paul II, arrived to begin the Mass with the song, Lode all Trinita, Praise to the Trinity.

And then, the words thousands were waiting for: "Brothers and sisters, we are united here in prayer to participate in the solemn canonisation of the Blessed …"

Dressed in the traditional gold and surrounded by five cardinals, 10 archbishops and 13 bishops, the pontiff read through the six names. When he came to the fourth, "Mary of the Cross MacKillop, virgin, founder of the congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart" you could have heard a pin drop.

The Pope's homily, partially delivered in all the languages of the newly beatified saints, asked the faithful to remember the importance of prayer.

On Mary MacKillop he said: "Remember who your teachers were. From these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. For many years, countless young people throughout Australia have been blessed with teachers who were inspired by the courageous and saintly example of zeal, perseverance and prayer of Mother Mary MacKillop," he said.

"She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the poor in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia, inspiring other women to join her in the first women's community of religious sisters of the country. She attended the needs of each young person entrusted to her, without regard to station or wealth, providing both intellectual and spiritual formation," he said.

"Despite many challenges, her prayers to St Joseph and her unflagging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to whom she dedicated her new congregation gave this holy woman the graces needed to remain faithful to God and to the church.

''Through her intercession, may her followers today continue to serve God and the church with faith and humility".

The Pope implored the faithful to pray ceaselessly: "Sometimes we get tired of praying, we have the impression that prayer is not very useful in life, that it is not terribly effective. So we are tempted to dedicate ourselves to activity, to using all human means to achieve our aims and without turning to God. Jesus instead affirms that we always need to pray and he does so through a particular parable (Luke 18:11-8).''

Luke's teaching, he said, told of the judge who thought only of himself, had no respect for his neighbour and prayed on the weak.

The other character, a widow, vulnerable and needy who through sheer persistence, obtains justice from the judge.

However, Jesus, at this point made the reflection that if a dishonest judge lets himself be convinced by a prayer of a widow, "how much more will God, who is good, answer those who pray?

''God in fact is generosity personified, he is merciful, and therefore he is always willing to listen to prayers. Therefore we must never despair but always persist in prayer."