Sisters from Belarus visit North East

Sister Catherine, Martin Bell with Russian dolls

Russian icons and crosses were among gifts sold by four Sisters from the Convent of St Elisabeth in Minsk, Belarus, when they visited Our Lady of Lourdes parish, Saltburn, North Yorkshire, on Tuesday during their tour of Britain and Ireland.

Sister Helen, who told the morning Mass congregation about the nuns' work among mentally ill children and drug addicts in Minsk, said the visit was part of a UK tour, taking in parishes in the south of England and Hull, Scarborough, Stokesley, Middlesbrough and Saltburn. The visit ends with three weeks in Ireland starting on September 12.

"We have been pleased to meet Saltburn people, especially the parish priest Monsignor Ricardo Morgan, whom we have met in the past," said Sister Catherine.

Among those who met the four, aged 24-26, was Martin Bell, of Saltburn. He has organised visits for children from the area near Kiev, Ukraine, which is still affected by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear power station explosion of 1986.

"This summer our funds could only result on two children visiting Saltburn, but next year we hope to raise enough money to bring a few more. We've brought up to 25 a year over from the affected area in the past 20-plus years," he said.