Pope Benedict XVI canonised Australia’s first saint, Mary MacKillop, at a Mass in Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican yesterday in front of tens of thousands of cheering pilgrims.

Pope Benedict praised Melbourne-born Sister MacKillop’s record as a teacher in the “difficult and demanding terrain” of the Australian Outback and said the teachers she inspired had educated “countless young people”.

“Through her intercession, may her followers today continue to serve God and the Church with faith and humility,” he said at the ceremony, attended by Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd.

Pronouncing a solemn prayer in Latin, the Pope also canonised Canadian monk Andre and four people from Italy, Poland and Spain and declared that “throughout the Church they be honoured devoutly among all the saints”.

Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski were among the worshippers and six giant images of the new saints hung from the façade of Saint Peter’s basilica during the Mass.

There were some 6,000 Australians and 5,000 Canadians, Vatican authorities said. Many wore Australian bush hats and waved Australian and Canadian flags.

As many as 80,000 people crowded into the square for the Mass.

“She exemplifies many of our best characteristics. She was a strong woman of faith. She was determined, she had very clear ideas and she wasn’t pushed aside,” Cardinal George Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, said after the mass. Referring to her frequent run-ins with senior Australian clergymen, he added: “She’s a wonderful example of truthfulness, obedience and loyalty to the Church despite the fact that she was treated unjustly.”

Cardinal Pell said he was “immensely pleased and honoured”, adding: “It’s a significant step in our Catholic history and in our national history.”

There were nationwide celebrations in Australia for Sr MacKillop (1842-1909) and her canonisation was preceded by a series of events in Rome including an Aboriginal dance show at the Vatican museum with didgeridoo and bagpipe music.

Sr MacKillop was an inspirational nun and educator who fell out with Australian Church authorities and was briefly excommunicated in 1871 in a fight over control of her order and after her denunciation of a paedophile priest.

“It’s just wonderful. We’ve always believed Mary was a saint,” said Moya Campbell, one of 800 nuns in the crowd from the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, the order that Sr MacKillop helped found.

“This is awesome,” said Emilia Mourani, 36, who flew in from Sydney.

“I’ve prayed to her and she’s helped me with my problems. That’s why I’m here, I wanted to thank her,” she said, visibly moved by the moment.

Also among the spectators was Thomas Casanova, 43, a Catholic priest from Wagga Wagga in New South Wales.