Those who are poor and marginalized are protagonists on the path to holiness

At the General Audience, on Wednesday, 28 June, the Holy Father returned to his series of catechesis on apostolic zeal, reflecting on the example of those men and women of every time and place who devoted their lives to the spread of the Gospel. Today, he turned to the distant continent of Oceania and the witness of Saint Mary MacKillop, a great educator and the foundress of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The daughter of Scottish immigrants, Mary discerned the great need for schooling among the children of the poverty-stricken rural communities of Australia. Together with the Sisters of her Congregation, she founded numerous schools throughout the country to care for spiritual and human formation of the young. Mary’s great trust in God’s providence and the power of the cross sustained her amid the inevitable trials she faced in her growing apostolate. “She read the signs of her times” the Pope said. May St Mary MacKillop be a creative response to the needs of the Church and be an inspiration to today’s parents, catechists and educators, as they strive to introduce young people to the beauty of friendship with Jesus and prepare them to be a leaven of the Gospel in today’s rapidly changing society.

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