On the 15th January 1842, Mary MacKillop was the first born into her family. A Family of 8 children, Mary's parents had immigrated from Scotland and tried to make the best of their new lives however under the …show more content…
direction of Mary's quite unlucky father, the family suffered.
Whilst Mary grew up poor she was well taught, her Father had attended prestigious schools in Scotland and Rome and made an effort to make sure his children were well educated - particularly in the Catholic faith. At the age of 16, Mary begun work as a store clerk, this was the beginning of her 'life' as the breadwinner of the family. As Mary was required to be a hard worker from an early age, she had a hardworking attitude instilled in her, this was to reflect in all of Mary's future works. Now aged 18, Mary was sent to be a governess for her aunt and uncle Cameron's children in Penola, South Australia. This was to mark the beginning of Mary's journey to her true vocation. In Penola, she grew a love of helping the poor, teaching and aiding them and was the place she met Father Julian Tenison Woods - the parish priest at Penola. The next few years, Mary was relocated to Portland, Victoria where she eventually opened up a girls school. Back in Penola,
Father Woods was eager to open up a school and convinced Mary to return to offer her expertise. Mary was once quoted saying 'find happiness in making other happy', this summarising the work of the next few works. Mary worked tirelessly to establish a school for the Penola community. In 1866, Mary made a declaration of her dedication to God, she began to wear black and was noted saying, "Let your motto be: God alone". The next few years, Father Woods and Mary worked to form a new religious order and spread their mission of educating the poor across Australia.