AS a graduate of a good Catholic upbringing I thought I knew what to expect from a visit to the Sisters of the Cross and Passion at Ilkley's Briery Retreat Centre, writes Vivienne Francis.

Like a scene from the film Sister Act, where Whoopi Goldberg seeks sanctuary in a convent, I felt assured of stern piety and prayer, discovering women who had turned their cheek to the opportunities of the world to remain behind cloistered walls.

But the women on the other side of the imposing door were about to shatter my misconceptions, as shining

examples to the sisterhood of the new Millennium.

Spirituality, religious conviction and devotion to God are still very much the order of the day for the nuns at the Briery - but they have made this their business in a very modern way.

There are three nuns based permanently at the Briery, Sister Pat, who runs religious retreats, Sister Marie, who has taken on the role of the housekeeper and Sister Cecilia, who is involved in the running of Elmleigh, a nearby convent for retired nuns.

Each has tended to their vocation like any career woman of the twenty-first century and far from eschewing the world outside the convent's walls they have led successful, fulfiling and useful lives.

Sister Pat, who was a head teacher overseas for many years before coming to the Briery in 1996, smiled at my outmoded notions.

"We are people, after all," she said.

The nun, who originally hails from Bolton, then confided she is forced to make a special effort to fit in her prayers at the beginning of each day as her busy schedule means her time is mainly accounted for.

So much for my images of enforced silence, rosary beads and contemplation.

Sister Pat is warm open and friendly, a living testimony to the way the Catholic church is evolving.

She became a nun in 1953, beginning her career teaching at a Bradford school.

She earned herself the reputation of the 'foot-balling nun', after coaching a junior team.

Her next assignment was to take her half way across the world to Argentina, where she spent more than 30 years.

Like all of the nuns at the Briery, Sister Pat does not wear the traditional habit.

She said: "I was in Argentina when it became optional. I lived in a shanty town where they had no roads and we got around on a bicycle.

"Wearing a hot and white habit was not the most practical thing to be doing."

The nuns favour ordinary sweatshirts and trousers but wear a pendant with the symbols of the cross and passion as a sign of their devotion to God.

Perfect for her hands on job co-ordinating retreats at the centre, which has the air of relaxation, peace and

tranquillity, for people of all denominations seeking to recharge their spiritual batteries.

She leads groups in various activities and prayers. Many of the retreats are held almost completely in silence, allowing people to reflect on their problems.

Others involve discussion and the Celtic ritual circle dancing.

It is a role Sister Pat obviously finds enormously fulfiling: "They (the

visitors), in a way, make me feel

humbled. They come here and they have such difficult lives. But they keep

cheerful and they keep going. They still have hope, which I think is amazing," she said.

The popular retreat seems to be an effective form of therapy. From priests wishing to discuss their lives to mothers seeking sanctuary, most people making a spiritual journey at the centre leave with a greater sense of balance.

Sister Pat said: "They take away the strength to keep on going. A lot of people when they come here, what they take away is peace."

The centre, in Victoria Avenue, also plays host to those wishing to run their own retreats, providing food and accommodation for up to 36 guests.

The nuns' modern lives could have their roots in the foundations of their order and its original aims.

Founded in Manchester, in 1851, by Elizabeth Prout, the ethos of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion has always been to be involved in the practicalities of helping the community.

The order was the first to take women without a dowry.

The Briery itself was founded in 1954 as a retreat for women from the parishes who had no means of taking a holiday from the rigours of their daily lives.

As further evidence of the nuns'

thoroughly up-to-date schedule I also managed to speak to Sister Anne, before she rushed off to a conference in London.

Like Sister Pat, Sister Anne's vocation has not been played out behind cloistered walls but making a visible difference in the community. She said: "There are still some enclosed orders but there are less than there used to be. That is a very specific decision to make."

For much of the year, Sister Ann works as a teacher in a small Romanian village, living among some of the poorest people in Europe. She is among those setting up a high school in the Hungarian-speaking village of 3,000 people, perched in the mountains.

She said: "This area is very precious to Hungary and is called Gymesh. It is one of the centres of Hungarian

culture."

Many of the houses are without electricity and water and the farming community still uses a traditional horse and plough to reap and sow its harvests.

Sister Anne said: "When I first moved there I lived in the school. There was no running water and the food was awful.

"Until we brought money out from England the water was taken from one of the springs in the mountains."

The nun now lives in a house with more mod cons, built free of charge by a Leeds-based architect.

Sister Anne does not dwell on the hardships she has faced. She said: "I thought when I went I could offer them a lot. Now I am overwhelmed by their faith."

Sister Ann stated her career as a bank clerk and only later decided to become a nun. She said: "I was working a lot for CAFOD as a parish representative doing voluntary work in Salford.

"An opportunity came up for a group of us to go to Peru and see what life was like in a shanty town.

"I had thought about it a lot before but it was being in the shanty town that made me take the decision to at least try when I got back."

The sister underwent a six-year training before taking her final vows, gaining a wide picture of what was to be expected of her. She admits it is not a popular choice in today's society - but says the changes that are being made could redress declining numbers.

She said: "I am still very optimistic about the future. We have got a long way to go before we totally die out. Something new is emerging. There is growth all the time."

This growth is more than visible at the Briery, where traditional Catholic theology seems to have given was to ecumenical healing and togetherness.

l The Briery Retreat Centre runs both supervised and unsupervised retreats. It is also available as a conference centre. Anyone wanting further information should telephone (01943) 607287.