This year’s pilgrimage began at the Church of St Therese, in Balingup, with two pilgrims’ blessings at 8.30 am and 9 am, to allow for a staggered start with only 50 pilgrims able to fit at one time in the small village church. Photo: Shendelle Mullane. On the Feast Day of St Therese of Lisieux, patron saint for Mission, 100 pilgrims walked the annual 16km Kirup Camino, to celebrate 100 year...

In Australia, parishes are invited to stand alongside communities in Malawi, the focus of Catholic Mission’s 2026 World Mission Month appeal. Photo: Supplied/Catholic Mission. As World Mission Sunday approaches on 18 October 2026, Catholics across Australia are invited to begin their celebrations by joining the universal Church in praying the mission rosary. Celebrated on 18 October this...

One in Christ, united in mission is the theme that Pope Leo XIV has chosen for World Mission Day that celebrates its centenary on Sunday 18 October 2026. The theme recognises that mission is not the work of individuals alone, but of an entire Church moving together in faith. It speaks to a unity that goes beyond agreement or belonging; an active, lived commitment to bringing God's love i...

Catholic Mission is inviting schools across Australia to kick goals for good and compete to create the next official sockball following the launch of Socktober 2026. The national challenge coincides with the centenary of World Mission Sunday. As part of the competition, schools, students and youth groups are invited to design and build a new sockball using recycled materials. Image: Cath...

With 2026 marking the 100-year anniversary of World Mission Sunday, Pope Leo XIV has welcomed the National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies (Catholic Mission) to Rome for the General Assembly. Pope Leo XIV waves after meeting with participants in the general assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Clementine Hall at the Vatican on 1 June 2026. During the meeting, Pope L...

Australia’s Catholic bishops have been told Myanmar is going through a “polycrisis” five years after the military coup. Speaking on the opening day of the biannual plenary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference in Sydney on 8 May, Cardinal Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, said his country was going through simultaneous economic, employment, social, health and education crises. Pr...

One of the many lives changed through Br Andrew’s work is Chuluunbaatar, a man who found shelter at the House of Mercy, after a serious injury that left him facing homelessness.