Under an initiative of the Knights of the Southern Cross Victoria, the cross - made from floorboards at the school she founded in South Australia - will be taken to parishes in Victoria, NSW and South Australia.

Penola College principal Chris Blake said he was delighted his school was chosen as one of the 20 places in Victoria where the cross would be shown.

"Mary MacKillop was at this location before, as she and the Sisters of StJoseph established a foundling home on the Broadmeadows site in 1901," Mr Blake said.

"It was a great honour that we were chosen and everyone at the campus enjoyed learning more about her history."

The cross was seen by local parishioners and visitors, who also watched a movie, Soul of the Sunburnt Country, which tells of Mother Mary's struggles with priests and bishops as she tried to establish the Josephites.

"She fought hard to do things her way and it sometimes got her in trouble," Knights of the Southern Cross Victoria council chairman John Bruce said.

"It's important people know how hard she worked to make the lives of the less fortunate a little easier."

Mr Bruce said the canonisation at St Peter's Basilica in Rome on October 17 would be a historic event. "We Catholics believe she will be a saint for all Australians, which is why we are promoting her within all church communities."