What is Mary MacKillop Today?

About Mary MacKillop Today

Through Mary MacKillop Today the vision of Australia’s first Saint and of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, is being realised.

Mary MacKillop Today works with local communities in Australia and internationally through learning for life and enabling access to learning opportunities in the areas of education, health, financial inclusion and livelihoods to share practical life skills that enhance people’s dignity across various stages of life. Through our education and life skills programs we develop essential skills for self-sufficiency. If you’d like to learn more about our work overseas or our Indigenous Scholarships and community grants programs in Australia please click the button below.

Mary MacKillop’s influence in Australia today, and beyond, is palpable.

Dioceses celebrate her as their Patron; schools, aged care homes and ministries for the vulnerable proudly bear her name, and the work of the congregation she co-founded extends across the globe.

In 1867, her co-founder, Fr Julian Tenison Woods wrote that the Sisters were to:

“Do all the good they can and never see an evil without trying to see how they may remedy it. … This is their mission… The religious must do any good that they can…and make their charity all-embracing.”

It is in the spirit of that guiding principle that Mary MacKillop Today was born.

About Mary MacKillop Today’s Financial Inclusion Program

Mary MacKillop Today’s Financial Inclusion Program was formerly known as The Josephite Foundation and continues to be a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart. Our No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) programs is an initiative of the Sisters and is delivered in partnership with Good Shepherd Microfinance.

How we began

In 1998, in his message for the World Day of Peace, Pope John Paul II recognised that peace was threatened by injustice. One form of injustice that he named was the lack of fair access to credit.

“The poor are often obliged to remain outside the normal financial system or to place themselves in the hands of unscrupulous money lenders who charge exorbitant rates of interest. The result is the aggravation of an already precarious situation. For this reason it is everyone’s duty to ensure that the poor have access to credit on equitable terms and affordable interest rates.”

Sisters, having reflected on the Pope’s message, on the spirit of Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods and their concern for justice, the Josephite Foundation established its first major project, the Bathurst No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS).

Since then the Josephite Foundation, now Mary MacKillop Today, has continued to grow in its quest to promote financial inclusion and offer fair and equitable credit to people with low incomes. Mary MacKillop Today now offers No Interest Loan Schemes across Australia with offices in the following areas:

• Bathurst - since 1999

• Lithgow - since 2000

• Cowra - since 2002

• Young - since 2010

• Orange - since 2018

In addition to providing access to microfinance, the Mary MacKillop Today’s Financial Inclusion Program also helps build people’s financial literacy, provides access to government funded energy efficient product subsidies (when available), advocates for people on low incomes when required and also refers clients to other services and programs where additional needs are identified.

Our Mission

Guided by the Gospel, we stand with the marginalised poor, rural and remote peoples, in Australia and internationally, so they can realise their potential and participate fully in their communities. We seek to empower and transform lives through self-determination, access to education and the learning of practical life skills.

Our Values

FAITH: Guided by the charism and spirituality of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart we are full of faith and hope in the Gospel teachings and in God’s Providence, each other and humanity.

ACCOUNTABILITY: We take our responsibilities and partnerships seriously. Our decisions, actions, governance, transparency, integrity and trust can be relied on.

RESPECT: We respect the dignity of all, we bring light to the darkest corners of society, we are motivated by the needs of others.

EXCELLENCE: With our commitment to quality, we do what we do very well so those we serve can expect the best. We are committed to programs that demonstrably enact our mission, to evidence-based programming, sustainability and achievable outcomes.

Our Approach

WOMEN AT THE HEART: Inspired by a woman and led by the Sisters of Saint Joseph, women are central to our story and the communities we serve.

EDUCATION FOR LIFE: Enabling access to education: traditional literacy and numeracy; broad skills for living; across the various stages of life. Through our education and life skills programs we develop essential skills for self-sufficiency.

REACHING THE MARGINS: We choose, like Mary MacKillop and Julian Tenison Woods, to be pioneering and brave, able to go where no one else will go and serving communities others may overlook.

DIGNITY THROUGH SELF DETERMINATION: We recognise the inherent dignity of all and therefore are committed in our programs and in our workplace culture to principles of subsidiarity and the common good.

PARTNERSHIP: We are committed to deep, genuine and accountable partnerships, shaped by co-responsibility, engagement and a shared commitment to real outcomes.

Mary MacKillop Today is committed to respecting, protecting and promoting internationally recognised human rights for all, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, indigeneity, disability, age, displacement, caste, gender, gender identity, sexuality, sexual orientation, poverty, class or socio-economic status.