Year 10 Caroline Chisholm Catholic College student Xavier Librando will go to Rome in October for the canonisation of Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first Saint.


Mary MacKillop was an Australian Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.


She was the first Australian to have been beatified in 1995 and will be known as Saint Mary of the Cross (MacKillop) following the canonisation.


Xavier, 15, is one of 70 Catholic school students from across Victoria that has been selected to travel to Rome to be part of the celebrations.


He will take part in a tour of Rome through the eyes of Mary MacKillop, visiting the Termini Station where Mary arrived in 1873, the Anglo Americano Hotel where she spent her first nights in Rome and the Santa Sacramenta Chapel, where Mary used to visit most evenings.


Xavier will also be part of the student group to witness the historic canonisation ceremony at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and will participate in special vigils and concerts in the days leading up to the event.


It will be Xavier’s first trip to Europe.


“It’s not every day that an Australian becomes a saint. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this happen,” he said.