Mary MacKillop Spirituality Ministry

Mary MacKillop Spirituality Ministry Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Mary MacKillop Spirituality Ministry, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country, 1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf.

A ministry that offers opportunities for transformative experiences in spirituality and mission, inspired by the work of St Mary MacKillop and Father Julian Tenison-Woods.

16/06/2026

MacKa Moment – Refugee Week

In her latest MacKa Moment video, Sr Rita Malavisi is at the Mary MacKillop Spirituality Centre, Melbourne, Victoria and is standing in front of a display featuring a mannequin of Mary MacKillop wearing widows w**d. She wore this when she travelled to Rome in 1874 to have the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart Rule approved by the Vatican.

Sr Rita says, “[Mary] needed to dress as a widow because women didn’t travel alone in those days. There was persecution of religion in France and in Rome in Italy, and so she dressed as a widow.”

Additionally, Sr Rita says, “This week is Refugee Week and we remember this week in particular, all those migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who have taken long, rough and arduous journeys to get to our country of Australia for safety. We remember those people and we pray that they may be united with their families again.”

View in the video about what Sr Rita says about Refugee Week and more via YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrKgzfb_a8E

You can view past MacKa Moments videos via YouTube here: www.youtube.com//videos

Mary MacKillop Spirituality Ministry

Centre Spotlight: Mary MacKillop Spirituality Centre, Melbourne Nestled in the heart of East Melbourne, our Melbourne Ce...
16/06/2026

Centre Spotlight: Mary MacKillop Spirituality Centre, Melbourne

Nestled in the heart of East Melbourne, our Melbourne Centre is a beautiful space of inspiration, heritage and spiritual renewal right in the heart of the city. 🌿

Whether you are visiting the Mary MacKillop Museum, attending a retreat or reflection day, bringing a school group for an educational experience, or simply stepping into the chapel for a moment of quiet prayer, there is something meaningful here for everyone.

The museum tells Mary's story through a stunning collection of relics, artefacts and audio-visual displays, with a current exhibition celebrating Mary MacKillop as a traveller. School and community groups are also warmly welcome.

And if you are looking for a stay in Melbourne, our ten self-contained apartments are perfectly located across from the Fitzroy Gardens and minutes from the CBD.
Come and encounter the sacred in the heart of the city.

📍 362 Albert Street, East Melbourne

This week is Refugee Week (15-21 June), and we celebrate the courage of millions of people seeking safety and sanctuary....
13/06/2026

This week is Refugee Week (15-21 June), and we celebrate the courage of millions of people seeking safety and sanctuary.

The theme for Refugee Week 2026 is "A Million Stories" - a recognition of Australia's remarkable milestone of welcoming one million people through permanent humanitarian visas since 1947. Each story is unique. Each one is powerful. And together, they have shaped the Australia we all call home today.

But these stories are more than statistics. They are stories of courage. Stories of families who have lost everything and rebuilt lives in a new country. Stories of resilience, hope and the determination to create a better future. Stories of people who contribute their gifts, their cultures, their love to our communities every single day.

We are called to stand with them. To welcome the stranger. To see their dignity and honour their journey. To recognise that refugees are not problems to be solved, but people to be welcomed, supported and celebrated.

The Gospel reminds us: "When an alien resides with you in your land, do not oppress them. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt." – Leviticus 19:33-34

One million stories. One shared humanity. One call to courage.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a profound invitation to encounter Christ's boundless love ma...
11/06/2026

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a profound invitation to encounter Christ's boundless love made visible.

The Sacred Heart is the symbol of Jesus' complete self-gift to humanity. It represents His compassion for the suffering, His forgiveness of sinners, His solidarity with the broken-hearted. In the wounded and pierced heart, we see God's love in its most vulnerable, most human form.

This feast calls us to contemplate the depth of Christ's love for each of us. A love that does not judge or condemn, but welcomes, heals and transforms. A love that asks us to open our own hearts in return.

In honouring the Sacred Heart, we are invited to live differently. To love as Christ loved. To see Christ in those who suffer. To be instruments of His compassion in a world that desperately needs it.

Today, take time to rest in the presence of this love. Bring your own heartache, your doubts, your struggles to the foot of the cross. Jesus knows them. Jesus loves you through them.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." – Matthew 11:28

07/06/2026

Today on World Oceans Day, we acknowledge the beauty, fragility and sacred importance of our oceans.

The oceans sustain all life on Earth. They are our lungs, our heartbeat, our responsibility. Yet they face unprecedented threats from pollution, warming waters and overharvesting. We are called to be stewards of creation.

Mary MacKillop lived this call. She worked tirelessly for the poor and vulnerable, recognising the dignity of all people and all of creation. In her time, she witnessed the impact of human actions on communities and the land they depended on. Today, that same spirit calls us to protect our oceans.

Pope Leo XIV reminds us in Laudato Si that we are not separate from nature - we are part of it. Our oceans are not resources to exploit, but gifts to honour and protect.

This World Oceans Day, we invite you to:
🌊 Reflect on your relationship with the ocean
🌊 Make choices that protect marine life
🌊 Support communities dependent on healthy oceans
🌊 Pray for the healing of our waters

The ocean connects us all. Let us commit to being guardians of this sacred trust.

Today we celebrate Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.Corpus Christi invites us to pause and refl...
06/06/2026

Today we celebrate Corpus Christi, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Corpus Christi invites us to pause and reflect on the profound mystery of the Eucharist. In the breaking of bread and sharing of wine, we encounter Christ's love made present to us. It is a celebration of Christ's sacrifice, His nourishment of our souls, and His invitation to deeper communion with Him and with one another.

This feast calls us to recognise the sacred in the everyday, to honour the gift of Christ's body given for us, and to live out that love in our communities.

Whether you join us in procession, gather at Mass, or simply take time for quiet prayer today, we invite you to encounter the Sacred and give thanks for this profound gift.

May the peace of Christ be with you.

04/06/2026

Today we celebrate World Environment Day and recommit to caring for our shared home.

Pope Leo XIV reminds us through Laudato Si that we are called to be stewards of creation. Our planet is a gift, and every creature, every ecosystem, every person deserves our respect and protection.

At MMSM, we are deeply connected to the land on which our seven Centres stand. From the Central Coast to Melbourne, Adelaide to Tasmania, we witness the beauty and fragility of nature. We recognise our responsibility to protect these sacred spaces for generations to come.

This World Environment Day, we invite you to:
🌏 Join us in prayer for our planet
🌏 Reflect on how you can live more sustainably
🌏 Support Indigenous land stewardship and protection
🌏 Encounter the Sacred in creation

Together, we can honour God's creation and build a more just and sustainable future.

Today we acknowledge Mabo Day and the significance of the Mabo decision.On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia reco...
03/06/2026

Today we acknowledge Mabo Day and the significance of the Mabo decision.

On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia recognised that Indigenous Australians have native title to land. This landmark decision affirmed the rights of Indigenous peoples to their Country and the deep connection between Indigenous communities and the land they have cared for since time immemorial.

Mabo Day reminds us of the ongoing journey towards justice, recognition and reconciliation.

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which our seven Centres stand across Australia. We commit to honouring Indigenous sovereignty, culture and the sacred relationship between people and Country.

01/06/2026

Mary MacKillop meets Pope Pius IX

On 1 June 1873, Mary MacKillop had her first audience with Pope Pius IX.

As Sr Maria Casey says, "Mary decided to go to Rome to seek papal recognition for the Institute (Congregation) because she wanted her Sisters to be available to work amongst the poor in Australia."

“Pentecost Sunday, 1 June, was according to Mary’s diary ‘a day never to be forgotten, a day worth years of suffering’. She had her first audience with the Pope, with [Cardinal Alessandro] Barnabò and [Monsignor] Kirby there to introduce her. ...”

Mary had written to her mother Flora about the meeting and wrote:
"On Sunday I had the happiness of seeing the Holy Father and of obtaining a warm blessing from him for myself and my dear Sisters. What he said and how he said it when he knew I was the excommunicated one, are things too sacred to be spoken of – but he let me see that the Pope has a Father’s heart, and when he laid his loved hands on my head, I felt more than I will attempt to say."

We invite you to read more here: www.sosj.org.au/mary-mackillop-meets-pope-pius-ix



🖼️ Mary MacKillop meeting the Pope – part of toile by Pamela Griffith © Trustees of the Sisters of Saint Joseph.

01/06/2026

MacKa Moment – National Reconciliation Week and Magnificat Humanitas

In her latest MacKa Moment video, as we continue to commemorate National Reconciliation Week (27 May - 3 June), Sr Rita Malavisi is outside standing in front of a War Memorial of two Aboriginal people from Tasmania who passed away by being hung – they were the first two people to be hung in public in Melbourne (Victoria) in 1842. Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheener were resistance fighters and protectors of Aboriginal people, and yet their resistance cost them their lives.

Sr Rita also shares that also what happened in 1842, was that Mary MacKillop was born probably about a kilometre up the road (from the memorial). So we remember to walk in reconciliation with our Indigenous people.

Additionally, Sr Rita also speaks about having read Pope Leo XIV’s new encyclical ‘Magnificat Humanitas’ which is “really focusing on the human dignity and the humanity of each one of us.” She talks about AI (Artificial Intelligence) and shares, “How would Mary MacKillop have taken the technologies of today? So Mary MacKillop would have challenged us to really consider our relationships with one another. So let’s do that this week.”

The video can be viewed via YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LhugVdJbZ4

You can view past MacKa Moments videos via YouTube here: www.youtube.com//videos

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Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country, 1 Convention Centre Place
South Wharf, VIC
3006

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