Excommunicated Spanish nuns appear in court over eviction battle

A community of Poor Clare sisters in Belorado, northern Spain, have appeared in court to resist eviction by the Church after their excommunication in a dispute over union with Rome and property rights. 

The matter began in mid-May 2024, when the community of 16 declared their separation from the post-Vatican II Catholic Church and their allegiance to sedevacantist Bishop Pablo de Rojas Sánchez-Franco. Their superior, Sister Isabel de la Trinidad, released a five-page open letter on 13 May along with an extensive 70-page “Catholic Manifesto”. 

Rojas leads a group called the “Pious Union”, which has chapels and Mass centres around Spain. They hold the sedevacantist position, which maintains that there have been no valid Popes since Pius XII (some date this further back to Pius X) due to liturgical and theological reforms, which they believe excommunicated subsequent Popes. 

Rojas claims his episcopal lineage according to the “Thục line” — bishops who were consecrated by, or derive their succession from, Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục (1897–1984), the former Archbishop of Huế, Vietnam, and brother of South Vietnam’s President Ngô Đình Diệm.

In response to the sisters’ heretical allegiance, the Archdiocese of Burgos, where the monastery is located, issued a declaration of excommunication and ordered the nuns to leave consecrated life under canon 751 of the Code of Canon Law. 

The excommunication applied to only ten of the sisters, since one had already left and five were deemed too old. However, the sisters subsequently separated themselves from Rojas. It appears that the bishop and a man associated with his movement, Francisco José Ceareo Sierra, had been staying at the monastery. Ceareo, who claims to be a priest, had become the self-appointed spokesperson for the nuns. Declaring to the press that the Bishop of Burgos, Mario Iceta, is a “shameless man”, he became an antagonistic presence among the sisters.

The sisters then welcomed another sedevacantist bishop, Rodrigo da Silva, whose views had been so extreme that the now-deceased former SSPX bishop and Englishman Richard Williamson had distanced himself from him in 2018. Da Silva also claims the Thục lineage. However, he too later left. According to reports, the spiritual needs of the community are now met by sedevacantist priest Jesús Casas Silva.

Prior to their split with the Catholic Church, the sisters had gained national fame for their handcrafted chocolates, especially mojito-flavoured truffles and chocolate-covered orange sticks, sold in gourmet stores and even served in Michelin-starred restaurants such as San Sebastián’s Akelarre. After their break with the Church in May 2024, the sisters launched Obraetlabora SL, a company registered in December 2024. Its declared activities include chocolate and confectionery production, as well as agriculture, livestock, and property rental.

In early 2025, they were reported to owe significant debts — for example, €18,000 for a chocolate oven and ingredients — while the archdiocese noted they lacked funds in official convent accounts. Despite financial strain, they continue producing their chocolates under the brand “Erre que Erre”, showcased at Madrid Fusión 2025. In February 2025, three of the sisters moved to Arriondas in Asturias, renting the Hotel-Restaurant Ribera del Chicu. From there, they plan to run a cloistered restaurant, with dining service handled by volunteers or staff so the sisters can remain enclosed.

The eccentric business ventures also included the purchase of a fighting bull, which later had to be sold because it could not be contained within the convent grounds. 

The court is expected to deliver its ruling on whether the sisters must leave their property within several weeks. If they are evicted, the sisters plan to appeal.

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