ASSUMPTION College student Brandon Walker will witness history being made next month as he follows in the footsteps of Australia’s first saint.

The 16-year-old will join 70 students and teachers from Victoria at the Vatican for the canonisation of Mary MacKillop on 17 October.

The trip will include the Canonisation Mass at St Peter’s Basilica, a visit to the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum and a day trip to the country town of Assisi.

“I have learnt a great deal about Mary MacKillop and she has been very much an influence on me,” Brandon said.

“Especially her trade mark saying – ‘never see a need without doing something about it.’ Throughout the lowest points in her life she kept her direction and faith and that is why she should be a saint.”

Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne, Australia, on 15 January 1842 to a Catholic Scottish migrant family.

From an early age, she devoted her life to caring for and educating children. In 1866, she also co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in Penola, South Australia.

The Melbourne Catholic Education Office is funding part of the trip and every Catholic school in Melbourne was asked to nominate a student to attend the ceremony.

“I really feel honoured to be chosen to be there at the ceremony,” Brandon said.

“Many people have dedicated their lives to get Mary MacKillop recognised and I am able to see the fruits of their labour.”

The students will also take part in a tour of Rome through the eyes of Mary MacKillop; visiting the landmarks, sites and churches that played a part in her quest to establish the Sisters of St Joseph.

The tour begins at Termini Station, where Mary arrived on 11 May 1873 after six weeks at sea from Adelaide. The students will also visit the Anglo Americano Hotel where she spent her first nights in Rome and the Santa Sacramenta Chapel where she visited most evenings.

Mary MacKillop died on 8 August 1909.

Melbourne celebrations will also coincide with the ceremony in Rome. A street procession will make its way down Brunswick St, Fitzroy – the birthplace of Mary MacKillop- to the Royal Exhibition Building where a live feed will broadcast the canonisation.