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On the 8th and 9th of June 2017 staff from St Joseph’s School in Barmera walked from Wilmington to Port Augusta in an attempt to follow in the footsteps of Mary MacKillop, for their staff retreat. Mary MacKillop made the same journey many years before in order to visit Sr Laurencia who desperately wished to see Mary one last time as she lay dying.

Sr Laurencia was a 19 year old Sister of St Joseph who taught at St Joseph’s School in Port Augusta in 1878. On Sunday evening March 3rd 1878 there had been devotions in the church. Sister Laurencia began to clear away things in preparation for school the next morning; this included extinguishing the kerosene lamp. While trying to put out the lamp, the whole thing caught fire and spilled over onto the Sister, catching her alight. Mary MacKillop travelled by train and coach from Adelaide for a full day to get to Port Augusta as quickly as she could. At sundown, the coach pulled up at its final destination in Wilmington which was thirty miles from the convent where Sister Laurencia lay dying. Before her was a rugged pass through the ranges and she had no means of transport in sight. Mary looked about her in this tiny place and then went into the local hotel bar. “Gentlemen”, she says as the patrons stare at her in amazement “a sister is dying from severe burns in Port Augusta.  I must go to her.  Would someone lend me a horse?  I shall return it in a few days’ time”. The men in the bar look at Mary. They mutter to each other: “A woman! A horse! Riding a horse! To Port Augusta! Tonight! Then one farmer says: “Sister, we’d be risking our lives if we attempted to go through the pass tonight, but I will drive you in my buggy. I’ll meet you here at sunup in the morning and we should make it by mid-morning.”

Mary MacKillop made it to Sr Laurencia in time. Sr Laurencia died on March 11th 1878 and is buried at Stirling North cemetery. Sr Laurencia’s grave became the sacred place staff of St Joseph’s School Barmera walked to. It was not only the site that took staff deeply into the heart of their faith, but the journey to it as well. A pilgrimage is a very personal experience but it is usually a journey with others: seeking, listening, reflecting and seeing the hand of God at work in our own lives. With the spiritual support of Fr Khalid staff embraced the challenge to walk through the pass and put their trust in God like Mary did. As staff walked, they talked and shared the experience together, taking in the amazing surrounds of God’s creation called Horrock’s pass. The pilgrimage created opportunities for staff to step out of the non-stop busyness of their school- and personal lives and to seek a time of quiet and reflection. This helped staff focus on ‘what really matters’ and to rediscover the joy of giving, generosity and “going the extra mile”. Something they are called to do every day as they work with students in a Catholic School in the spirit of Mary MacKillop.

by Nanda de Winter