The community of former Poor Clares of Belorado left their monastery near Burgos in northern Spain last Thursday, shortly before the enforcement of a court order for their eviction.
The Archbishop of Burgos Mario Iceta published videos after the schismatic ex-nuns had left, appearing to show they had left the 3,000 square-foot convent dirty. Scenes of mice and leftover food appeared in the footage.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Burgos said: “The fourteenth century parchments which contain the bull of foundation of the monastery used to be kept in a wardrobe. When we entered, we found they [the ex-nuns] had taken the wardrobe and placed the parchments below some blankets.”
He continued: “They took the whole kitchen. It was pulled out. They also took china and a portable electric light generator.”
The spokesman alleged that items were also missing from the convent church: “Not a single liturgical ornament was left,” he said, according to the Spanish daily, El País. “They took a made-to-measure oak cupboard and none of the statues were left in the display cabinet.”
He said the archdiocese had attempted to make an inventory to check what might be missing in order to reclaim items by legal means if necessary. “But we didn’t have that much time to look things over calmly,” he added. “We understand we may obtain an accurate list in the next few days.”
The schismatic ex-nuns published a video of the convent in response to that issued by Archbishop Iceta. This showed corridors inside the building with gleaming wooden floors.
In May 2024, 10 of the 16 Poor Clares of Belorado announced they were leaving the Catholic Church and no longer recognised any Pope since Pius XIII as legitimate. They appointed the first of several sedevacantist bishops as their spiritual leader.
In June 2024, Archbishop Iceta excommunicated them from the Church. He subsequently demanded the community leave Belorado since they had “no legal title” to the monastery premises.
The Vatican asked Iceta to lead a committee overseeing the convent’s administration, which soon reported receiving unpaid bills for convent expenses “exceeding €35,000”.
In April last year, Spanish police accused the former abbess of Belorado, Laura García de Viedma – formerly known as Sr Isabel of the Trinity – of fraud after she sold 1.73kg of gold. She denied the charges.
A court subsequently rejected the former nuns’ appeal against their eviction.