Bishop consecrates unmarked children's graves

The Bishop of Down and Connor has consecrated land where the bodies of babies and young children are believed to have been buried.

Hundreds of unmarked graves are thought to be located in the Bog Meadows at the bottom of Milltown Cemetery in west Belfast.

The land belongs to the Ulster Wildlife Trust but was previously the property of the Catholic Church.

Some families believe that some of the bodies may have been accidentally transferred from the cemetery when the land was sold and have been campaigning to have the Bog Meadows consecrated and recognised as an official part of the cemetery.

The graves were located after archaeologists conducted a radar search in the Bog earlier this year.

On Sunday Dr Noel Treanor, the Bishop of Down and Connor blessed the land, saying it was important to recognise those buried in the area.

He said, "The church is desirous and happy to undo any errors, to honour the memory of these children, to recognise the grief of the parents, not only in the loss of their children but in their sense the neglect of those children by the community, by the church," reports the BBC.

"As of October of last year, the diocese went actively about reacquiring this part of the graveyard."