The Poor Clares of the Spanish convents of Santa Clara de Belorado, in Burgos, and Ordunã, in Vizcaya, broke with the Catholic Church. They do not recognize Pope Francis as legitimate, nor the Conciliar Church as Catholic, they are no longer in communion with Rome and they claim to suffer “persecution” from their superiors. The diocese speaks of an “attack of schism.”

It was not on the doors of the convent where they hung the notice: the nuns opted for digital to publish, this Monday, a manifesto and a letter of abandonment, in which they made clear their break with the Vatican. All, supposedly, due to the rejection of the sale of a monastery.

“As of today, the day of Our Lady of Fátima in the year 2024, our community (Belorado and Orduña), leaving the Conciliar Church to which it belonged, becomes part of the Catholic Church under the tutelage and jurisdiction of its Illustrious Reverend Dr. Dom Pablo de Rojas Sánchez-Franco, legitimate bishop of the Holy Catholic Church,” they state in a 70-page manifesto, signed by Sister Isabel de la Trinidad, Mother Abbess of the Poor Clares. According to the publication, the manifesto is signed by the 16 nuns belonging to the Order of the Poor Sisters of Santa Clara. However, the archbishop of Burgos, Mario Iceta, maintains that it would be necessary to check whether this declaration is unanimous.

The nuns, known for their sweets (chocolates and truffles), have participated in competitions such as Madrid Fusión and are even on the menu of Michelin-starred restaurants. Now they detail the discomfort they feel within the Conciliar Church: “They will call us heretics and schismatics, crazy people and many other things, very slanderous and unpleasant. Don’t believe it, at least this time, don’t be fooled.”

[Já saiu o primeiro episódio de “Matar o Papa”, o novo podcast Plus do Observador que recua a 1982 para contar a história da tentativa de assassinato de João Paulo II em Fátima por um padre conservador espanhol. Ouça aqui.]

The texts released by the nuns are long and full of controversial accusations. They question the “stubborn silence” and “acquiescence of the shepherds, leaving them alone, without protection or defense against the wolves.” In addition, they point out a “doctrinal and moral chaos”, “a doubt about who directs Peter’s ship and his immediate collaborators” and even mention that the “Conciliar Church is not the Catholic Church.”

Finally, they accuse Francis of heresy and argue that Pius XII, who died in 1958, was the last legitimate Pope, reiterating that current canon law and catechism are “heretical, anti-canonical, illicit and invalid.” “God save us from the wolves in sheep’s clothing!” reads the end of the manifesto.

The reasons for the break with the Church and the union with the excommunicated bishop

Furthermore, the nuns accuse Rome of blocking and not wanting to grant them “a license to sell the Derio convent”, which they have owned since 2013. The nuns intended to sell the convent to cover the purchase of the Ordunã Monastery. from the same congregation as the nuns, but located in Vizcaya, where they were transferred in 2020 – which they occupied without paying the amounts owed agreed with the community -, in addition to terminating the purchase and sale contract “without prior notice”, after three years .

“They put a stop to our community on all fronts: in their fame and advancement, in their decisions, in their jobs, in their elders, in their families and, finally, in their life and their peace,” they say.

“This property thing must be very sweet for some, because it is the backdrop for the traps to which we have been subjected in recent years. It’s a modus operandi, dismantle ‘traditional’ communities and keep their properties to sell them. We have already heard of some cases,” say the nuns.

The Archdiocese of Burgos confirms, in a statement, published a few hours after the announcement, that this departure is therefore due to the real estate issue involved in the sale of the monasteries, specifying that the nuns agreed to buy the Ordunã monastery. , for 1.2 million euros. First they contributed 100 thousand euros and then they committed to making periodic payments, which ultimately did not occur.

“In March 2024, Sister Isabel affirms that she has a benefactor who will buy and put the Monastery in the name of the benefactor himself, they will make a use agreement and resell it to the Belorado community when they obtain the value of the sale. of the Monastery of Derio,” reads the statement, which worried the priesthood due to “suspicions that this person was outside the Catholic Church.”

The requests to know the name were not answered, so it was decided to cancel the sale of the Derio convent. In this sense, the nuns allege that the sales contract was terminated without prior notice. The matter has already been in court since the beginning of the month and with no solution in sight, after Sister Isabel, having delivered to the notary invited to resolve the rescission, “a document demanding 1,600,000 euros in payment of the value of the works carried out for their community in the Monastery of Orduña and 30% for damages.”

The rebellion of the nuns, led by Sister Isabel, no longer recognizes the authority of the bishop of Burgos and places itself under the jurisdiction of an excommunicated bishop, Pablo de Roja.

The election of the new abbess was scheduled for this month, on the 29th, and, after having exhausted all canonical possibilities for re-election, Sister Isabel needed express authorization from the Vatican, according to the Archdiocese of Burgos.

Who is Pablo de Roja?

Currently, Pablo de Rojas Sánchez-Franco is considered by the nuns as “legitimate bishop of the Holy Catholic Church”, despite having been excommunicated – for celebrating sacraments in the diocese without being able to do so – by María Iceta, archbishop of Burgos and bishop of Bilbao, in 2019, through a statement published on the website of the Diocese of Bilbao.

Self-proclaimed bishop, Rojas is one of the founders of the Pious Union of Santiafo Póstol, existing since 2005 in the region of Bilbao and Palencia and considered a sect according to the Catholic Church, to which the 16 nuns promised obedience, reports El País According to the newspaper El Independiente, presents itself as “a kind of Warrior Militia predestined to stand out above everything that exists.”

According to the same newspaper, in his biography, Rojas seeks to make it clear that he is in a good economic position, comes from noble origins and comes from a family that dedicated itself “for centuries” to goldsmithing. However, at this time, the jewelry business has given way to the real estate sector. According to El Mundo, within the hierarchy of the Church in this region, it is theorized that Pablo de Rojas could be the benefactor of the purchase of the convent, with Sister Isabel’s promise to continue leading the group of nuns.

The website of the doctrine he leads clarifies that it is not a religious order, but rather a “Pious Union”, as its name indicates. However, it is not open to everyone, only to Catholics who feel protected by the pre-conciliar cause. Its organizational structure is inspired by that of Opus Dei, where he had his academic training.

The religious has the financial support of some believers. On social networks and on his website, where he appears practically alone, he publishes in all his publications information about how his followers can contribute to the maintenance of his group, even mentioning that contributions can be deducted from income tax returns. of the.

Diocese “perplexed” by the dismissal

In response to the dismissal of the nuns, the Archdiocese of Burges is “perplexed” by the manifesto. He states that the nuns “never” expressed “any disagreement,” also mentioning that the documents announcing their departure have not yet been received officially and reliably.

???? Note from the Archbishopric of Burgos regarding the manifesto of the community of Poor Clares of Belorado

➡️ Upon being aware of a statement and a manifesto from the Belorado community, this archbishopric wants to state the following ????https://t.co/T11L99StFP

— Archdiocese of Burgos (@archiburgos) May 13, 2024

At this moment, the diocese is committed to “maintaining a dialogue to clarify the facts,” in an attempt “to reverse this situation,” says Mario Iceta, archbishop of Burgos and bishop of Bilbao, during a conference that also took place a few hours ago. after the publication of the manifesto. Furthermore, he explains that neither the “pastors” – the term used in the manifesto – nor the federal president have the power to prevent payments or terminate the contract of sale of the monastery, since this is the responsibility of the contractual parties.

Furthermore, Iceta affirms that all the nuns’ requests “were attended to, whether in terms of conducting retreats, training or spiritual assistance of any nature” during a conference held a few hours later. It also warns about the “seriousness” of the event and the canonical penalty of “schism” that they incur, since, since April 24, a prior investigation began within the monasteries, following a “suspicion of a possible commission of the crime.”

The Archbishop of Burgos made it clear that he will now follow the instructions of the Holy See and asked the faithful to refrain from participating in any liturgical act celebrated in the monasteries of Santa Clara, Belorado and Ordunã.

The archbishop’s requests were not answered and the clergy participated, this Tuesday, in a religious ceremony, held in the Belorado convent, but by one of the followers of Pablo de Rojas, reports El Mundo. In addition, the rebel movement of nuns created a website in recent days and published photographs of the mass, dated the 14th, to officially accredit all their future actions.

Despite this, the EFE Agency highlights that, on Monday afternoon, the faithful were not so lucky and those who came to attend the mass scheduled for 6:00 p.m. found both the gate and the door of the church closed. The monastery is now also closed, with a sign prohibiting entry.

Clarissas de Burgos break the silence on Instagram

The plot involving the nuns of Burgos seems to be far from over. The last new chapter took place this Tuesday night, when the nuns published a home video on the social network Instagram, explaining that the nuns are still in the convent, closed since Monday.

“Peace and good brothers, we are in the San Damián inn, in the convent of Santa Clara de Belorado, our home. We intend to communicate, through the concerns we receive, that we are fine, that our reality is not that we are kidnapped and away from our families,” the fair states, in the first seconds of the recording.

The protagonist of the video ends by guaranteeing that the sisters will not abandon the Catholic Church and that in the coming days there will be more news: “We will share little by little with you our experience, our desire to be faithful to the truth. of Christ, to fidelity, to faith, to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, we will not leave the Church, we will explain, so be patient while we explain and the reality that we have is to be able to show you that you have discovered the truth and the hug with Christ.” In this way, they reinforce that possible future statements will be made through this account, which they manage. The first publication is a photograph, without description, of the convent, dated Saturday.

After the video, they also shared a smiling photograph with relatives, reinforcing the controversial message with the description: “Sisters called ‘schismatics’, detained, kidnapped, manipulated and kept away from their families.” This Wednesday afternoon they published a second part of the video, with the same nun from the first video, showing the remaining sisters, once again happy with their relatives, who appear in the image shared before.