Pop star Katy Perry is embroiled in a bizarre legal case; she's battling a pair of nuns for the right to buy their old convent.
Located in the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, the former convent of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is worth millions of dollars. Sisters Rita Callanan and Catherine Rose say they have the right to sell the property, and have done so for $15.5 million. Restaurateur Dana Hollister has already moved in, and is said to be considering turning it into a boutique hotel.
However, Archbishop Jose Gomez maintains that the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles holds the rights to the convent, and is putting together a $14.5 million deal with Katy Perry, who the LA Times says first became interested in the property three years ago.
Perry reportedly met Callanan and Rose earlier this year. The 30-year-old was once a Gospel singer, but has since distanced herself from her Christian roots, telling Marie Claire magazine in 2013: "I'm not Buddhist, I'm not Hindu, I'm not Christian, but I still feel like I have a deep connection with God". The nuns told the LA Times that the singer dressed conservatively, showed them a 'Jesus' tattoo on her wrist and sang 'Happy Day', but they insist they'd rather she didn't buy their former home.
Now elderly women, they didn't know who Perry was at first, but looked her up online. "I found her videos and ... if it's all right to say, I wasn't happy with any of it," Sister Rita explained, though chose not to elaborate on her concerns.
The pair are worried that if the diocese goes through with its sale, and nullifies Hollister's purchase, then they won't receive any money, though officials have insisted that won't happen. "We have given many years to this archdiocese and we have served them well," Sista Rita explained. "For the archdiocese to...put us under a bus and run over us, I'm sorry, it was just too much for me."
The nuns bought the property along with three other Sisters a number of years ago, but their co-purchasers have agreed that Gomez has the right to sell it, his attorney Michael Hennigan told the Times.
The case is due to be heard in court next month.
