4 Corner Festival Belfast: Shankill DUP councillor Nicola Verner thanks Fr Martin Magill for helping her discover forgotten family graves on Falls Road

Led by himself and Presbyterian Minister Steve Stockman, the annual faith-based programme aims to bring together people from across the city.

Belfast City Cemetery, owned by Belfast City Council, is a cross denominational graveyard with 230,000 graves.

Fr Magill says that many Protestant families would have lived around the cemetery originally - it opened in 1869 - but in more recent times it is in a mainly Catholic area.

He was inspired to organise a 'Friendship Day' on Saturday after feedback on social media from Protestants who did not feel comfortable visiting family graves in it.

As part of the event, 60 youths from across the divide took part in restoration work in the graveyard.

Shankill Road DUP Councillor Nicola Verner was one of those who took up his offer to visit.

"I had an elderly aunt who lost her son in a tragic car accident when he was only 23 - Samuel Whyte - and he was buried there in 1972," she said.

Nicola took in a tour of the cemetery by local historian Tom Hartley and then the cemetery manager took her to the plot.

"It was lovely to be there and see how well kept the area is even though it doesn't have a headstone. I also found out I have great great-grandparents buried there, so we'll definitely be back."

On social media some people expressed concern that Fr Magill had invited people to a public, cross-denominational cemetery.

"But I accepted the invite in the spirit in which it was intended," she said, "Certainly it was a place that I've never visited and never realised I had so many connections with."

Fr Magill invited representatives from all political parties to attend. Other councillors who visited were Brian Smith from the Green Party, Michael Long from Alliance and UUP MLA Robbie Butler.

After the tour, visitors went to St John's to hear a presentation from the young people and then had lunch together.