The interplay between the life of one significant religious person, their context and religion

Who

Mary Mackillop

Mary Mackillop's Context

Mary Mackillop's religion

Mary Mackillop's life

Interplay

the way in which two or more things have an effect on each other.

Mary Mackillop was home schooled as a child, and as her parents were Catholic, this meant she was given a religious education as a child.

Mary was born into a poor family, meaning that once she grew up she was much more compassionate and empathetic towards those who were not so wealthy, as she had experienced this as a child herself. She was made to work as young as 14 and was often her family's main source of support. As an adult Mary provided education to those who were less fortunate as she felt it was her need to do so, and could understand what they were going through as she had a very similar childhood to many of the children that she educated over the years. Wealth affected Marys views on what she was called to do, as she believed that those who were less wealthy or not in a great situation deserved education just as much as those who were wealthy and were in better positions.

During the mid 19th century the colony of South Australia was the only one to grant women permission to vote in local elections, but still were not allowed to vote in parliamentary elections

She was born into a family with parents being Catholic immigrants from Scotland, meaning she had a Catholic household. This impacted her as it meant she was taught about the Catholic faith from a young age, and was encouraged to be a part of and practice the Catholic faith. As a young women she and her family moved to a small town in South Australia where she met her local priest, Julian Tenison Woods. Her familys religious background allowed her to connect with Father Woods and together they made a plan to start an order of Australian nuns who could move to remote areas and provide schooling for the uneducated children.

Mary Mackillop was home schooled as a child, and as her parents were Catholic, this meant she was given a religious education as a child. This education in her younger life really set up the foundation on what she wanted to do while she was older, which was to help others and serve the Catholic church while doing so. Without this Catholic education, Mary may not have known as much about the Catholic church and may not have been drawn to the faith. as much as she was. The catholic education she was granted as a child also inspired her to educate other children about Catholicism once she was old enough to. Her education as a child inspired her to help those who were less fortunate and uneducated, and to teach them what she had been taught when she was younger.

Those living in poverty were very often excluded from society and were not represented at the highest level of parliament, who instead represented those in the upper class

In mid 19th century South Australia private education was mainly the only education being offered, meaning those in lower socioeconomic groups didn't have access to a real education as they could not afford the fees that came with school

South Australia had the lowest proportion of Catholics compared to the other colonies of Australia at the time, as many of those had not been granted a religious education, or any education at all

Context and Life

With a low population of Catholics in South Australia, and with many South Australians not being offered education due to their financial position, Mary Mackillop sought to change this. Mary Mackillop started an order of Australian nuns to help this large population of uneducated children to learn about the Catholic faith and to gain an education

Religion and life

Women were excluded from many things at the time, with women commonly not being given as good an opportunity as men. During Mary Mackillop's time with her order of nuns, she started a refuge for troubled women to help give them a safe place to stay and help give them a second chance in life as many others didn't at the time

Mary Mackillop understood what it was like to be living in poverty, as she had been living in a poor household since a child, and was often her family's main source of support as young as 14. This gave her more empathy to the very large population living in poverty in South Australia during the 19th century, and because of this provided these children with free education as those in poverty were often neglected in society at the time. Mackillop gave these children a chance to better their position

Religion was what Mary Mackillop's life was centred around, and she dedicated her life to the Catholic faith. She was born into a Catholic household, meaning she was exposed to the Catholic faith from a young age. This Catholic faith inspired her to connect with her local priest, Julian Tenison Woods, where they started an order of Australian nuns. Her Catholic faith allowed her to provide a religious education to many underprivileged children, and also provide refuge to those who needed it, as she felt it was her calling to help others as it was the right thing to do