<div><p>Australia and the Canadian province of Quebec will have their first Roman Catholic saints -- a pioneering nun and a humble healer -- on October 17, Pope Benedict XVI announced Friday.</p><p>Australia's Mary MacKillop, a nun revered for her work with needy children as much as for her rebellious streak, is already a national icon.</p><p>Australia's ambassador to the Holy See hailed the announcement, saying it was "a terrific salute to an outstanding Australian, a giant leader in education and many other fields."</p><p>Tim Fischer added: "There is a great deal of affection and respect for Mary MacKillop. Further, she was a strong leader, a compassionate worker for the poor and a pioneer in education."</p><p>In December, Benedict recognised a miracle in which MacKillop apparently cured a woman of cancer, paving the way for her canonisation.</p><p>MacKillop, who died in 1909, passed the first stage to sainthood when pope John Paul II beatified her in 1995 after recognising a first miracle attributed to her, in which a woman was said to have been cured of terminal leukaemia.</p><p>Melbourne-born MacKillop established her first school in a disused stable and founded an order of nuns at the age of 24.</p><p>MacKillop spent her life educating the poor, taking learning to the harsh outback.</p><p>But the pioneering educator and social reformer was not without controversy -- she was excommunicated in 1871 for alleged insubordination before being welcomed back to the Church four months later.</p><p>Brother Andre, revered for his gifts as a healer, lived from 1845 to 1937 and his admirers built and dedicated Montreal's imposing St Joseph's Oratory to him. </p><p>Brother Andre has been credited with thousands of reported miraculous healings. </p><p>Diminutive, shy and with little education, he hardly seemed destined to become Quebec's first Catholic saint.</p><p>But he reputedly could heal the sick through the laying on of hands and the use of an "inner power."</p><p>The faithful say he could simply say in his gruff voice: "Leave your crutches and walk" to cure a crippled person.</p><p>In the nave of St Joseph's Oratory dozens of canes are testimony to the cures attributed to Brother Andre, who was born Alfred Bessette.</p><p>When he died on January 6, 1937, at the age of 91, nearly a million mourners filed past his coffin.</p><p>Andre was beatified in 1978 by John Paul II, and a miracle healing was officially recognised by the Vatican on December 19, 2009, marking the two steps towards his canonisation.</p><p>Pope Benedict, making Friday's announcement in Latin at a consistory or meeting of cardinals at the Vatican, said another four saints will be created on October 17, from Poland, Spain and Italy.</p><p>They are Poland's Stanislas Soltys (1433-1489), Spain's Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola (1845-1912) and two Italian nuns, Giulia Salzano (1846-1929) and Camilla Battista Varanno (1458-1524).</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=69707289&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>
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