
As part of his visit, the Pope visited the tomb of Blessed Mary MacKillop in North Sydney. While not in a position to declare her a saint during his time in Australia, he did make it clear to the faithful that Mary MacKillop would be canonised once the official process had been completed. The news was well received by Catholic Australians.
She later became the first Australian to be recognised by the Catholic Church as a saint when she was canonised on 17 October 2010 at the Vatican.
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.