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This is the sixth collection to be published. It focusses on the time not long after Mary MacKillop’s excommunication when she was encouraged to go to Rome to seek approval for the Rule of the Sisters of St Joseph. Mary set off alone, travelling incognito, with little money and no knowledge of where to stay or how she would travel. Her letters and her diary during 1873 show her amazing trust in the Providence of God as well as her very human feelings of loneliness, her worry about the Sisters back in Australia and her delight in visiting the holy places especially St Peter’s Basilica.
Little did Mary MacKillop dream that in 2010 thousands would gather in St Peter’s Square to see her photo hanging from the Basilica as she was proclaimed a Saint by Pope Benedict XVI.
Sheila McCreanor grew up in the Riverland of SA and joined the Sisters of St Joseph after completing secondary schooling. After her religious and teacher training she taught and was principal in several South Australian schools. Her interest in Mary MacKillop led her to complete a PhD entitled, ‘Sainthood in Australia: Mary MacKillop and the Print Media’. During 12 years as Secretary General working in the Congregational Offices in Sydney, she became aware of the many treasures amongst the letters by and to Mary MacKillop. As a hobby she began to edit collections of these letters.
