Selling convent to Katy Perry would break our vows, say nuns
ELDERLY nuns have gone to court to stop Katy Perry buying their convent, claiming that the proposed sale to the singer known for her skimpy stage outfits would violate their vows.
Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, 86, and Sister Rita Callanan, 77, of the Sisters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, accused the Archbishop of Los Angeles, who wants to push through the sale, of carrying out a “hostile takeover”.
It was the latest salvo in a legal battle over the future of Waverly, the order’s home located on a hilltop with views over Hollywood. Last year, a buyer called Katherine Hudson offered $14.5 million (£9 million) for the eightacre estate.
The nuns discovered that this was Perry’s real name. The multi-millionaire singer, whose songs include I
Kissed a Girl, did not go down well with the owners, “for what should be obvious reasons”, according to the court filings by Sister Catherine Rose and Sister Rita. Instead, they sold the property to Dana Hollister, a local restaurateur, for a higher price of $15.5 million.
Perry’s bid, however, was a cash offer and the archdiocese agreed to sell. Jose Gomez, the Archbishop of Los An- geles, said the nuns were unable to make the sale as they were under the ultimate authority of the church.
On June 19, the archbishop sued Miss Hollister to prevent the sale and to remove her from the property.
Documents submitted by the nuns have revealed the full fallout with the archdiocese over the affair. They accused Archbishop Gomez of acting as if he were “above the rules and immune from the obligations of civil law”.
In an email written to the archdiocese on May 22, Sister Catherine Rose said: “In selling to Katy Perry, we feel we are being forced to violate our canonical vows to the Catholic Church.”
In a letter of June 13 under the heading “How the Chancery Stole Waverly”, Sister Jean-Marie Dunne, 88, accused church officials of “not possessing a modicum of humility”.
The convent, which includes Gothic and Spanish elements, was built in 1927 and purchased by the order in 1972. Five nuns are still alive and are aged between 77 and 88. They all moved out in 2011 and now live separately, including in retirement homes.
Two of them have signed statements supporting the archdiocese’s desire to sell to Perry. Sister Catherine Rose and Sister Rita claimed that one of them was on morphine at the time she did so, but that assertion has been rejected by lawyers for the archdiocese.
Miss Perry is not involved in the legal case and has made no public comment. Before the case ended up in court she visited the nuns, sang for them and showed them her tattoo of the word “Jesus”. She said she intended to live in the property with her mother and grandmother.