Pilgrims in Rome for canonisation of Australian nun

Thousands of Australian pilgrims are getting the party started early, chanting "Mary, Mary, Mary, oi, oi, oi" as they wait to enter St Peter's Square ahead of Mary MacKillop's canonisation.

A huge line started forming outside the historic square in Rome after 6am local time for the canonisation ceremony, which will begin at 9pm NZT.

Mary MacKillop, who had strong ties to New Zealand is one of six men and women from Italy, Canada, Spain, Poland and Australia being recognised as saints by Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday.

An estimated 10,000 Catholic pilgrims, including three New Zealand bishops and 14 sisters, will be attending the ceremony at the Vatican.

In New Zealand, masses are being held around the country to mark the event, and a shrine is being unveiled at St Michael's in Remuera.

She died more than 100 years ago, in 1909, and the process for her canonisation began in 1926, before being suspended in 1931 and resumed in 1951.

Once the process is complete, she will be known as Saint Mary of the Cross and will be Australia's first saint.

Sister Katrina Brill from St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in New Zealand, the order of nuns Mother Mary founded, said the "Australasian" saint could also be claimed by New Zealand.

"I think New Zealand can really claim our foundress as a saint from Australasia because she came to New Zealand ... and spent up to a year at a time," she said at Auckland Airport on her way to Rome.

"She was particularly interested in Rotorua because she had rheumatism. She used to go to the baths for some relief. She also had a lot of relatives in New Zealand."

Mother Mary was born in Melbourne in 1842. As the eldest of eight children, she was educated by her father and spent time in Rome studying for the Catholic priesthood.

In 1866, at the age of 24, Mother Mary founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in Australia, with an aim to serve the needs of struggling members of society.

The first sisters of St Joseph came to New Zealand in 1883 to establish a school in Temuka, South Canterbury. Mother Mary visited four times between 1894 and 1902, travelling throughout the country.

While in Rotorua on a visit to New Zealand in 1901, Mother Mary was partially paralysed by a stroke.

Her time at the church came with some controversy. In 1871, at 29, a misunderstanding resulted in a five-month excommunication from the church. It is believed she was punished for exposing a paedophile priest.

Sister Sian Owen said people like Mother Mary become saints because their lives show others how to be holy and extraordinary.

"Mary's life is recognised as being the kind of life that was an example," she said.

In Australia, "Mary mania" has reached fever pitch in the lead-up to the historic moment.

Her image is being projected onto Sydney Harbour Bridge, and two songs have been written in her honour.

She also has her own postage stamp, an electoral district in South Australia named after her, as well as a rose, a Facebook page and even a Twitter account - managed by the Sisters of St Joseph.

In Melbourne, Mother Mary's birthplace, a festival has been planned with live music and entertainment, including a performance of Mike Brady's song Our Mary.

Her canonisation gives Australia's history a holy dimension, Father Graeme Malone told a mass in North Sydney.

"One of the important things about a canonisation is that ordinary events and ordinary connections in life take on a grace dimension," Father Malone told about 800 worshippers on the lawns of Glen Roy Green, Mary MacKillop Place.

"Our history becomes holy while our present remains messy."

He described Mother Mary as an "everyday woman" and a fellow Australian who lived in an extraordinary way.

Her canonisation was rightful acknowledgement of that life, he added.

Father Malone also touched upon Mother Mary's brief excommunication.

"Today we reflect on many things but especially on Mary's constant pursuit of justice, even beyond personal persecution and a misunderstanding which in part evoked her excommunication from a church she deeply loved," Father Malone said.

The mass was the first of three to be held at Mary MacKillop Place on Sunday.

Hundreds of worshippers have flocked to the location of Mother Mary's tomb to pray, attend the services or simply witness history.

Sydneysider Craig Connor, 30, said he is not religious but wanted to be part of the events celebrating recognition of Australia's first saint.

"I'm not a Christian really at all but it's something I wanted to see and be part of," he told AAP.

"It is history in the making."

NSW Premier Kristina Keneally is due to attend a private liturgy at Mary MacKillop Chapel, on the same site on Sunday night.

The canonisation ceremony being held at the Vatican will be screened at Mary MacKillop Place.

- NZPA, NEWSTALK ZB, AAP