A SISTERHOOD of nuns which has been been part of life in Clayton, Bradford, for the past 61 years is leaving the village next month.

When the Sisters of Littlehampton, an order of the Franciscan Missionary, arrived in the village in 1954 turning a former mill owner's house into a convent near to St Anthony's Church in its own grounds - there were ten of them - now there are only two.

A farewell mass will be held at the church in Bradford Road on Saturday, June 13, and the congregation of St Anthony's is hoping there will be a big turnout of people who have had links with the nuns over the years.

Church member Nora Holmes said the special mass would be a time of both celebration and sadness for the community.

Chris Jones, who has lived in Clayton for 30 years, said: "The nuns will be missed. People were used to seeing them out and about. They've done a lot of good work in the area over all those years, especially helping struggling families."

As a special gift from St Anthony's, Mr Jones is busy compiling a photo album capturing images taken of the nuns and at the convent over the past six decades.

Mrs Holmes said: "Religious orders aren't really getting the young people now so the sisters are getting older and older.

"From a ten-bed convent there are just two sisters now. At one time we had two sisters teaching at St Blaise when Bradford still had its three tier system, there were two at St Anthony's Primary School and one at St John's Primary in Cooper Lane. They did a lot of community work and helped out with some priestly duties. One was a nurse at St Luke's hospital at one point."

Sister Raphael, who died a few years ago, and reached her 90s, had been head teacher at St Anthony's Primary while Sister Anne, who left Bradford to work in South America for a time, is now Mother Superior at the Mother House of the Sisters in Littlehampton, West Sussex.

Mrs Holmes said: "When the Sisters sprung the news on us we decided at the Church that we should mark the event with a farewell mass followed by a buffet and invite anyone who has ever had any links or were taught by the nuns to join us, celebrating the time they have spent with us and marking the sadness that they are going."

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds, The Right Reverend Marcus Stock, said: "It was with great sadness I learned that the Franciscan Missionaries of Littlehampton would be leaving the Parish of St Anthony in Bradford.

"They had come to fill a special mission in the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Leeds. This they have done in an outstanding way and I thank them on behalf of the Diocese for their dedicated service.

"They have inspired and given hope to many people in the community especially with their power of prayer. They leave this particular mission today still praying for us; we thank them for all their work and know that they will always keep us in mind just as we will keep them in our prayers."

The farewell mass on June 13 will start at 6.30pm.