Melbourne doctor moves one step closer to sainthood as Pope Leo decrees
A Melbourne medical worker who started India’s biggest healthcare network has edged a step closer to becoming a saint, a move that would make her only the second Australian to be canonised by the Pope.
A second Australian is a step closer to being elevated to sainthood amid a move by Pope Leo XIV to give greater recognition to Catholic humanitarian Mary Glowrey.
The move is the latest step in the path to canonisation of one of Victoria’s early female doctors, held in high regard by both the Catholic Church and the medical profession.
Sister Mary graduated from the University of Melbourne with a bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery in 1910.
As an undergraduate she started her service of the marginalised and vulnerable, visiting slums in Fitzroy, Collingwood and Richmond to care for women and their babies.
In 1943 she established the Catholic Health Association of India, which has grown into India’s biggest healthcare network, supporting more than 3500 institutions and providing care for more than 21 million people each year.
On Friday, Pope Leo recognised Glowrey’s “heroic virtues” and retitled her Venerable Mary of the Sacred Heart Glowrey.
She is just the second Australian, after St Mary Mackillop, to be accorded this status.
Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Archbishop Peter A Comensoli expressed deep joy at the news.
“A proud daughter of Melbourne, Venerable Mary of the Sacred Heart Glowrey was a trailblazer,” he said.
“Her healing hands, her compassion, and her bold spirit were a living sign of God’s tenderness.
“May her example and intercession continue to inspire Aussies and people everywhere to live lives of service and holiness.”
Pope Leo’s decree marks the second major step in the formal process toward sainthood, signifying that the Church has officially found evidence of a life marked by extraordinary virtue.
The next phase, beatification, will require the approval of a miracle attributed to her intercession.
The only other Australian to be canonised — in 2010 — was Mary MacKillop, after a process started in the 1920s. The Catholic Church started the process for Mary Glowrey’s sainthood more than a decade ago.
Originally published as Melbourne doctor moves one step closer to sainthood as Pope Leo decrees
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