CATH NEWS REPORT: The Saint Mary MacKillop Memorial Wall was yesterday officially opened at Sydney's Gore Hill Cemetery in Sydney, where she was originally buried, said a media release.
The wall, which was erected as part of the ongoing commemoration of Mary MacKillop since her canonisation, will also serve as a resting place for cremated bodies and a significant site for Catholic and Christian pilgrims locally, nationally and internationally, it added.
The Northern District Times reported that attendees at the ceremony included Catholic Bishop of Broken Bay David Walker, assistant congregational leader of the Sisters of St Joseph Sister Eileen Lenihan and NSW Lands Minister Tony Kelly.
The Hunters Hill area was represented at St Mary's canonisation by Deputy Mayor Richard Quinn.
"Mary MacKillop was an exemplary and legendary Australian who saw a need, including a need in Hunters Hill, and actively did something about it," Cr Quinn said.Cr Quinn travelled to the Vatican, at his own expense, to attend the ceremony.
He said he had known about Mary MacKillop since primary school, where he was taught by the Sisters of St Joseph, the religious order founded by Mary MacKillop in 1867.
Cr Quinn said Sister Mary's association with Hunters Hill began in 1883 when the Marist Fathers asked her, as Superior General, to send Sisters of St Joseph to teach in new parish schools in Hunters Hill, Ryde and Woolwich.
The areas were all within the larger Parish of Hunters Hill.
According to the media release, Chairman of the Catholic Cemeteries Board, Peter Ward, emphasised in his address the importance of the restoration of Gore Hill Memorial Cemetery, marked by the launch of the Mary MacKillop wall.
Within the wall, 212 spots are available for the placement of cremated remains. Visually, the wall is adorned withsculpted bronze panels, depicting the life of Mary MacKillop and the circumstances that led to her sainthood.
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