On Thursday 10 September 2026, Mary MacKillop Today, in partnership with Mary MacKillop Place and the Josephite Justice Network, welcomed young people from across Sydney and beyond for Walking with Mary MacKillop: From Encounter to Action, a day designed to bring the legacy of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop to life for a new generation.
The gathering brought together 90 students from six schools: Gilroy College, Castle Hill; St Maroun’s College, Marrickville; St Aloysius’ College, Milsons Point; Mary MacKillop Catholic College, Wakeley; St Joseph’s Catholic College, East Gosford; and Mount St Joseph Catholic College, Milperra.
At the heart of the day was a simple but important question: What does it mean to walk with Mary MacKillop today?
This question came to life by keynote speaker Sr Jan Barnett, who challenged students to think more deeply about the idea of ‘encounter’. Sr Jan reflected on how Mary’s life was shaped and led by encounter, by her willingness to truly see and listen to the people around her, to recognise their dignity and to allow what she encountered to move her to respond.
For Mary, encounter was never passive. Meeting people, hearing their stories and recognising the realities of their lives became the foundation for action. Sr Jan invited students to consider how they, too, might be changed by the people they encounter and how genuine encounter can call us beyond ourselves and towards compassion, courage and justice.
This message set the foundation for the day. More than a century after Mary’s death, her legacy is not simply something to remember or celebrate; it is an invitation to continue her work. Mary believed that to encounter a need was to respond to it. This principle invites us first to notice the needs around us and then to act.
Throughout the gathering, students explored this legacy through three Josephite ministries: Mary MacKillop Today, Mary MacKillop Place and the Josephite Justice Network. Each demonstrated a different way Mary’s spirit continues to inspire action today.
Through Mary MacKillop Place, students encountered Mary’s story and reflected on the experiences and relationships that shaped her life. Mary MacKillop Today invited students to explore how her commitment to education, dignity and opportunity continues through work alongside communities in Australia and internationally. Through the Josephite Justice Network, students considered how responding to contemporary injustice requires listening, relationship-building, advocacy and collective action.
Importantly, this gathering was not simply about learning what others are doing. Students were invited to recognise their own capacity to make a difference.
They were challenged to look at their schools, neighbourhoods and wider communities and ask: Who am I being called to encounter? Where do I see a need? And what am I prepared to do about it?
The gathering demonstrated that Mary MacKillop’s legacy is not confined to history. It continues whenever we allow ourselves to genuinely encounter another person, listen to their story and be changed by what we hear.
As 90 young people returned to their school communities, they carried with them a challenge at the heart of Mary’s own life: to encounter, to listen, and then to act.
