Australia’s first saint canonised by Pope

POPE Benedict XVI canonised Australia’s first saint, Mary MacKillop, at a Mass in Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican yesterday in front of tens of thousands of cheering pilgrims.

“She dedicated herself as a young woman to the education of the poor in the difficult and demanding terrain of rural Australia,” Benedict said at the ceremony, attended by Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.

“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.”