By Edwina Bartholomew
The woman who could be credited with making a Sydney nun a saint has spoken publicly about her so-called miracle recovery.
She says she kept a piece of Mary MacKillop’s clothing close to her chest while praying for a cure to her lung cancer.
Kathleen Evans describes herself as an “ordinary woman”, but what has happened to her is extraordinary.
“It makes me very humble,” she says. “To be a part of Australia’s first saint – it’s pretty big.”
A smoker most of her life, Ms Evans was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer in 1993. But 10 months later she was cured – without any treatment.
“Mary came out and prayed with us, and straight away, as soon as we came out and knew it was gone, we just said; ‘thank you God, thank you Mary’,” she says.
When she was sick, Ms Evans was given a relic which she still carries close to her.
“It’s on my bra,” she says.
The mother of five from Lake McQuarry says she has no idea why she’s been so fortunate.
“When I finally do get upstairs, that will be the first question I’ll ask,” she says.
Ms MacKillop already had one miracle to her name, but it was Ms Evans’ cure that convinced the Vatican Mother Mary should become a saint.
Ms Evans has absolute faith her cancer will never return, and despite what the sceptics may say, she has no doubt miracles do happen.
“If someone doesn’t believe in miracles, I’ll always say; ‘Well, I do,'” she says.
Channel Seven