Bishop Shane’s visit to Benalla strengthens community bonds and faith

By Sharlene Baldo

May 20, 2025

Charlie the dog, Sister Liz, Brayden Quattrocchi, principal Joseph Mount, Bishop Shane, deputy principal Kirsty Renkin, Walter Jackson, Meg Cooke, Father Vijay. Photo by Contributed

On Friday, May 16, Bishop Shane Mackinlay, Bishop of Sandhurst, took a five-day trip around Benalla as part of an immersion experience into the life of St Joeseph’s Parish.

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During his many visits, Bishop Shane, along with Father Vijay and Sister Liz fcJ, stopped at FCJ College, where the Bishop joined staff for morning tea and joined classrooms to interact with students on campus.

“In our 125th-year anniversary, and themed year of companionship, it was a timely visit by Bishop Shane, Father Vijay and Sister Liz fcJ,” principal Joseph Mount said.

“Bishop Shane is always welcome in our community, and it was wonderful to hear him reflect upon his own experiences within the Diocese of Sandhurst, his connection to FCJ College and passion for working within education for the betterment of our students and staff.

“Bishop Shane has always been a strong advocate for creating spaces for listening and encounter through dialogue.

“We too work hard on finding such opportunities and spaces for our community.

“Put simply, Bishop Shane welcomed conversation with our students and staff through his inviting nature, willingness to listen and as such epitomised our characteristic of companionship.”

The alter in the prayer room. Photo by Sharlene Baldo

From 3.30pm onward, Bishop Shane paid a visit to aged care facility Estia Health Benalla.

Catholic residents received a one-on-one consultation with the Bishop, allowing an intimate moment for prayer and connection.

Estia Health lifestyle co-ordinator Amanda Shelley highlighted the significance of the Bishop’s visit for the residents.

“Religion is quite important to a lot of our residents, they enjoy the monthly church services and it gives them a chance to go because we’ve got a little chapel that they go to as well,” she said.

“So they do the service at the chapel, and pray or just have time to reflect on their religion and their faith.

“I think it would be really important to be able to see the Bishop ... a lot of it’s also they used to go church all the time with family, so it’s nice to be able to give them a church service to go to since a lot of their routine was go to church on a Sunday.

“Their faith is kind of what keeps them going at times, it’s nice that they can have something that keeps them going and make them happy ... it’s very therapeutic for them.”