Islanders gathered for an annual Mass to honour the memory of nuns at a historic priory.

The service took place on September 17 at St Dominic’s Priory, Carisbrooke, which was founded in 1866 by Elizabeth, Countess of Clare.

The priory, which was the first post-Reformation religious institution on the Island, received a royal visit from Queen Victoria in January 1869.

Despite its closure in 1989 due to a decline in religious vocations, the priory remains a Christian healing and prayer centre.

Father Jonathan Redvers Harris, in his sermon, spoke about the four Dominican pillars: "community life, common prayer, study, and service".

After the Mass, attendees gathered at the nuns’ cemetery for prayers led by Father Stephen Vooght, while Father Nishan Edward blessed the nuns’ graves.

A poem titled "The Graves of Carisbrooke" was read by Island poet and playwright, Edmund Matyjaszek.