Talking Mission - Shendelle Mullane

Can you please introduce yourself and share about your role at Catholic Mission?

I am Shendelle Mullane, Diocesan Director of Bunbury in Western Australia. I live in the small country town of Donnybrook with my husband and our two dogs. As Diocesan Director, I enjoy liaising with Catholic schools, parishes and supporters of Catholic Mission across a 184,000 km area that stretches from Mandurah near Perth, south to Dunsborough and east to Esperance. After 20 years of teaching in Catholic schools, my role as Diocesan Director provides me with new ways of understanding and participating in mission and, ultimately, bringing the Good News of the Kingdom of God to others.

You have been actively involved in organising Camino experiences across the Diocese. Could you tell us more about why these journeys are so meaningful and what makes them important for participants?

The Kirup Camino is held in the Diocese of Bunbury on the 1st of October each year to launch World Mission Month and to celebrate the feast day of St Therese of Lisieux, patron saint of Missions. This one-day journey, through forest and farmland, follows in the tradition of pilgrim paths around the world, like the famous Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Pilgrimage can be seen as a metaphor for life. Our way does not have to be ‘the Way to Santiago’, or a specific Camino or pilgrim route. We can journey within, or we can create a pilgrim path of our own closer to home, like the Kirup Camino, choosing places of individual significance to visit, remember, reflect and pray. Within the Catholic tradition, we are all pilgrims, called to be witnesses, to be mission and to journey towards the salvation promised by Christ.

Reflecting on your own Camino journeys, in what ways have you found them formative for your faith? Has this growth come more through encounters with others, the rhythm of the journey itself, or a combination of both?

The religious practice and tradition of pilgrimage within the Catholic Church is sometimes described as praying with our feet. While for some people pilgrimage is a time for spiritual renewal and awakening, others see it as a different type of travel experience where they can escape the busyness of everyday life and try to live a little more simply, albeit for a short time. With many pilgrimage routes from different faith traditions found around the world, such as to Jerusalem, Rome and Mecca, I have been fortunate to undertake four Caminos ending in Santiago de Compostela in Spain over the past 10 years. I recently also participated in the Way to St James Cygnet, a two-day pilgrimage held in the Huon Valley in southern Tasmania, and I look forward to continuing to travel Camino paths well into the future.

I find pilgrimage is a gift from God, where the journey provides a time of grace, healing and encounter. Walking day after day, particularly on the longer routes, can cause discomfort, pain, loneliness and a range of other emotions. Yet there are times of great joy, achievement, friendship and love. I have made lifelong friendships with people from around the world, my faith has deepened and I have gained different perspectives of life – my own and that of others – along the way. Most Camino journeys have three parts - the physical (body), the mental and emotional (mind), and the spiritual (soul) – and how these three aspects come together throughout each pilgrimage is different for every pilgrim.

How would you say the Camino experience connects with the work of mission, particularly in how it shapes our understanding of walking alongside others in faith?

There are parallels between a Camino - being open to people of every religion or none - and the work of mission, where we answer the call to love God and to love our neighbour, sharing our faith by serving people in need and working for justice and care for creation. As missionaries, we strive to ensure people have the opportunity for a full and enriched life - physically and spiritually - regardless of race, background, belief or gender. On the Camino, you meet other pilgrims as they are – the usual social indicators of career, residential address, car owned or style of dress are not present. The first question most pilgrims ask each other is ‘Why are you walking the Camino?’ rather than ‘What do you do for a living?’ as the focus is on the person. It is more about who you are, not what you are. The Camino provides endless opportunities to connect with others and to gain understanding of different perspectives on life, much like the work of mission.

As we mark the 100-year anniversary of World Mission Sunday, how do you see experiences like the Camino helping people reconnect with the heart of mission and our shared call to walk together in faith and solidarity?

As Pope Leo XIV explains in his World Mission Sunday Message for 2026, “The mission of the disciples and the Church as a whole is to continue the mission of Christ in the Holy Spirit: a mission born of love, lived in love, and leading to love.”

Experiences like the Camino enable people to focus their faith and be witnesses to it wherever they are. Along each pilgrim path, Christ’s living presence is there for anyone who is searching for him. Christ is constantly knocking at the door of our hearts, and he wants to share with those who are open to listening and to welcoming him into their lives. Whether we journey across the world or remain at home, there is always an opportunity for each one of us to respond to the call to mission, to walk together as sisters and brothers, bringing hope, compassion and the Good News to communities near and far. As this year’s theme for World Mission Sunday 2026, chosen by Pope Leo XIV, reminds us, we are ‘One in Christ, united in mission’.