Mary: The Mary Mackillop Story

(G) Roadshow DVD

Over 100 years on, Mary Mackillop’s loving compassion is still counter cultural.

She crossed denominational boundaries and wasn’t always supported by the hierarchy of her church but rather by people who, like her, who saw the needs of others and responded to them.

This 1994 docudrama (directed by Kay Pavlou) presents the story of Mary’s life in an entertaining way. Beginning with her upbringing as part of a struggling Melbourne family, we move through the development of her passion to educate the children of poor families, her growing compassion for the battlers of society, the birth of her order (The Sisters of St Joseph), her episodes of conflict with sections of church hierarchy, and the trials of ill health, through to her death.

Lucy Bell brings the spirit of Mary alive with her portrayal as a woman of vision, courage, compassion, determination, humility, unwavering faith and complete trust in God.

The story is interspersed with insightful comments given by broadcaster and biographer Clare Dunne, historical consultant Jesuit father Peter Gumpel, and Sisters of St Joseph Margaret McKenna and Maria Foale.

Accompanying the film are interviews with the director and people like the Rev. Bill Crews from The Exodus Foundation. Mr Crews relates the fact that the work of Mary Mackillop continues today — that there is always a need to selflessly help the poor no matter the personal cost for us as Christians.

Mary was a ground breaking figure in that she identified the universal need of people for education — a need that shouldn’t be dictated by how rich you are. She achieved this often without the help of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

As a culture we are often defined by our heroes. Mary Mackillop can definitely be seen as one of Australia’s heroes and role models.

Adrian Drayton