Australian nun who served India on sainthood path

March 26, 2013: An Australian nun, who served in India as a missionary, would take the first step toward sainthood this week. Sr. Mary Glowrey, who went to Guntur in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in 1920 at the age of 33, would be declared a Servant of God in India on March 27, the initial step to become a Catholic saint. She came to India as a missionary with the Society of Jesus, Mary and Joseph and founded the Catholic Health Association.

According to UCANews service, the announcement of her declaration as Servant of God would be made by Bishop Gail Bali at the Chrism Mass in the Guntur diocese. The campaign to have her canonized started to gather pace in India and Australia in the last 10 years, said Anna Krohn, national bioethics convener of the Catholic Women’s League Australia.

Sr. Glowrey was born in Victoria in 1887, studied medicine and worked in the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and Saint Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne as well as had a private practice. She later founded the Catholic Women's League (CWL) of Victoria and in Wagga Wagga.

She is the second Australian to be placed on the process of canonization. The first Australian saint who was canonized in 2010 was Sr. Mary MacKillop, who once was excommunicated.

Source: UCAN.org