Two nuns were arrested for allegedly selling religious works belonging to the heritage of the Belorado convent, Spain.
A scandal shakes the Catholic Church: two nuns from a historic convent were detained and excommunicated after being accused of selling religious works of art that belonged to the assets of the convent of Belorado, Spain. The news has generated great impact both in the religious community and in public opinion, igniting the debate about the protection of ecclesiastical heritage, the legality of its commercialization and the canonical and judicial consequences of the case.
As soon as the police proceedings arrived, the investigation points to an alleged crime of misappropriationand reception, since the pieces, apparently stolen from the convent, were published for sale on the internet.
The origin: excommunication and dispute with the Vatican
The two nuns belonged to the convent of Santa Clara in Belorado, in the province of Burgos. In 2024 they declared rebellion against the Vatican hierarchy, rejecting papal authority and joining traditionalist currents, which motivated his formal excommunication.
After that breakup, a conflict was unleashed, not only spiritual, but also patrimonial. The nuns lost their canonical status and, according to judicial sources, continued to live in the convent where they allegedly began to dispose of the monastery’s property. That situation put into alert the ecclesiastical and civil authorities, who since then investigated strange movements of religious pieces.
The irregular sale of sacred works would have been justified by the nuns as a “usual convent” practice, although without endorsement from the Church or any cultural entity, which now earned them a criminal accusation.
Arrest and charges: misappropriation of cultural property
On November 28, 2025, the Civil Guard raided the Belorado monastery after identifying the sale of religious pieces online. The two ex-nuns, one of them a former abbess, the other a simple nun, were detainedalong with an antique dealer from León, who appears as the buyer of the pieces.
The authorities accuse them of misappropriation of assets of cultural interest and aggravated receptioncrimes derived from the sale without authorization of historical works belonging to the convent.
After appearing before the Court of Instance of Briviesca, The nuns were provisionally released. The antique dealer was also released under the same condition. Meanwhile, the investigation continues with the aim of locate more potentially sold parts and determine the magnitude of the property damage.
In their first public statements, the accused denied having committed any crime: they stated that they had “nothing to hide” and that they always acted convinced of be within your rights, although they did not present legal guarantees of the sales.
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Beyond a scandal: civil and cultural implications
The case has raised alarm in religious and historical heritage sectors. The convent dates back to the 15th century, so The sacred works involved not only have artistic and religious value, but also historical. The irregular sale of these goods can mean an irreparable loss for the cultural and spiritual memory of the community.
For the Catholic Church, this event represents a crisis of confidence: not only because of the nuns’ break with the authority of the Vatican, but because of the possible commercialization of sacraments, relics and consecrated objects. The debate, for now, transcends criminal matters and puts ethics, faith and institutions at the center.
