The New South Wales woman whose dramatic recovery from lung cancer was confirmed as Mary MacKillop's second miracle has described herself as an ordinary churchgoer.
Kathleen Evans, whose identity has remained a secret until now, has spoken publicly for the first time about her miracle cure from cancer.
Surrounded by a throng of reporters, the 66-year-old said she was just an average mother-of-five and grandmother to 20, who just happened to be touched by Mother Mary MacKillop.
In 1993, then aged 49, Mrs Evans was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer and given just months to live.
But after returning to her Lake Macquarie home, constant prayers to Mother Mary, and the wearing of relic containing a piece of the soon-to-be saint's clothing, against-the-odds she recovered from the disease, which has now completely disappeared.
In December last year, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed her recovery as Mother Mary's second miracle, paving the way for her canonisation to become Australia's first saint.
Mrs Evans said "wow" was her reaction when doctors first told her the cancer had disappeared, and was surprised by all the attention she was now getting.
"I'm not one to be on my knees all the time. I'm just an ordinary person," Mrs Evans said of her faith.
"If I miss a Mass, I don't think I'm going to go to hell or anything like that."
She said she felt privileged to be part of Mary MacKillop's canonisation, expected later in the year.
"It makes me very humble," she said. "Australia's first saint - it's pretty big."
