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Sydney (Agenzia Fides) – They will thank the Lord for the gift of Mary Mackillop who did so much to improve the life of the Indigenous people of Australia: about 30 young Indigenous Australians and elders will travel to Rome for the canonisation of Australia's first saint on 17 October. In a statement sent to Fides, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney said that the Office for Aboriginal Catholic Ministry began early so as to enable a group of Aboriginal Australians to take part in this important event: a national committee has already been set up to raise funds so that between 26 and 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders can attend..
"Mary MacKillop strongly believed Aboriginal children were entitled to the same quality education as non Aboriginals and throughout her life, tried to do as much as she could to make sure Aboriginal people were educated and had access to her schools," says Elsie Heiss, director of the Office for Aboriginal Catholic Ministry . "This tradition was continued by the Josephite sisters who are wonderful teachers and who have always supported Aboriginals with scholarships, encouraging them to become doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers or any other career path they wished to follow.”. The delegation to the Canonisation will comprise young Indigenous Australians and elders from various dioceses across the country. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 18/6/2010)
