Mary MacKillop The process to have MacKillop declared a saint began in the 1920s, and she was beatified in January 1995 by Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI prayed at her tomb during his visit to Sydney for World Youth Day 2008 and in December 2009 approved the Catholic Church's recognition of a second miracle attributed to her intercession. She was canonised on 17 October 2010, during a public ceremony in St Peter's Square at the Vatican. She is the first Australian to be recognised by the Catholic Church as a saint. Mary Helen MacKillop was born on 15 January 1842
Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt (; "") is a historical Syriac Orthodox Church in Homs, Syria. The church is built over an underground church dating back to 50 AD. It is the seat of the Syriac Orthodox archbishopric. The church contains a venerated Holy Girdle that is supposed to be a section of the belt of Mary, mother of Jesus. The church was damaged during confrontations between the armed opposition and the security forces in the 2011–2012 Syrian unrest. In 2012, reportedly confrontations caused extensive damage to the exterior of the