Awakening: Genevieve Exton followed Saint Mary MacKillop’s footsteps to Rome.
Andrew Mathieson
PREACHING with a voice of an angel, 19-year-old Catholic Genevieve Exton sounds out a compelling case for sainthood.
The Mary MacKillop disciple has been moving heaven and earth to spread the gospel of Australia’s most revered nun to the masses.
Ready at the beck and call of the church, Genevieve’s work is proving no less holy.
Just like her namesake, 5th Century Parisian Saint Genevieve, she has devoted her life to charity, the underprivileged and, most importantly, God.
But for the modest St Mary’s parishioner that’s where the similarities end.
“I think my parents just liked the name Genevieve, to be honest,” she giggles.
“For nearly every name possible, there is a saint.
“But I’ve read a bit about Saint Genevieve and the work she did is quite inspiring.”
This modern-day Gen-evieve’s everlasting faith has grown since Geelong Catholic Deanery last year sent her to Rome to witness Mary MacKillop’s historic canonisation.
Taking notes of religious landmarks, sacred sites and churches that inspired Mary’s quest to establish the Sisters of St Joseph in Penola, Geelong’s ambassador created her own internet blog to educate youngsters of the story behind their new saint.
The blog was so popular among thousands of followers that Genevieve plans to deliver the message in classrooms when she starts teaching at Catholic schools.
“I can imagine students being so excited when I show them my photos,” Genevieve smiles.
“Hopefully my blog will still be on the internet, although the photos might look a bit old fashioned by then.
“But that will still be special for them because their teacher was there and they’ll be able to feel a connection.”
Before then Genevieve will preach to the converted at St Mary’s Basilica this weekend.
Genevieve followed in Mary’s footsteps from Termini Station after the nun had spent six weeks at sea in 1873 to Anglo-Americano Hotel where staff were left bemused over her luggage of one small box then, finally, to Santa Sacramenta Chapel where the visiting nun prayed each night.
“The whole time I felt the spirit of Mary MacKillop really strongly,” Genevieve says.
“I mean, even sitting at breakfast I’d be talking to other people on my table and a lot of them were struggling to have children but they always prayed to Mary and then later they had children.
“There was this great sense of unity and friendship between everyone and it felt like Mary MacKillop was really there.”
Before Mary was a saint, Genevieve first saw the light at a 2008 World Youth Day in Sydney.
For many years she was content to just attend Sunday mass and listen to the same sermons but it was the joyous celebrations that changed her outlook.
Genevieve committed giving to the poor and joined a young St Vincent de Paul’s outreach to make a real difference.
“I looked around me and there were hundreds of thousands of other young people at the World Youth Day who were so vibrant and happy to be there,” she recalls.
“I guess I thought they had this faith about them, they had this wonderful confidence and I thought I needed to look further into this.”
