Silver Plated Icon - Blessed Mary MacKillop of Australia

Handcrafted by Polish metal smith artist, this valuable icon can be yours with this very attractive silver plated frame and 24kt gold gilded finished details and velour back. The main material of the artwork is copper fused with silver. This artistic religious fine art piece is handcrafted using traditional techniques and natural materials to emphasize the beauty of past design traditions. The fine features of Mary & Jesus are hand-painted. The back of the religious icon comes affixed with a sawtooth hanger for easy wall mounting. <P> Silver Plated Icon Measures: 10.25" W x 14" H x 1.0" D <P> Lady Mary MacKillop (1842-1909) is a symbol of strength of the early Catholic Church in Australia. A Roman Catholic nun who, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1866 at age 25 in Penola, South Australia to work in the religious and secular education of the outback children. Here she adopted the religious name Sister Mary of the Cross. A number of schools across Australia, Germany and New Zealand, several with links to the Josephites, have been named in honor of Blessed Mary MacKillop. She is the only Australian to be beatified (1995). It is expected that her canonization as a saint will occur in 2010, making her the first Australian saint.