Community Corner
Nun Fighting Katy Perry Over Sale Of Convent Dies In Court
Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, who had been fighting the sale of a Los Feliz convent to Katy Perry, died March 9.
LOS ANGELES, CA — One of the nuns involved in a legal battle with singer Katy Perry over the sale of a convent in Los Feliz died in court on Friday, according to media reports and a fundraising page to help with the nuns' legal fees.
Perry, 33, wanted to buy the 8-acre property and its Roman-villa style buildings for $14.5 million and planned t0 relocate an adjoining house of prayer used by priests. Her bid was signed off by Los Angeles' archbishop.
The two nuns, Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, 89, and Sister Rita Callanan, told KTTV they wanted to sell the property to a local business owner, Dana Hollister. When Hollister intervened and tried to buy the property from the two nuns who lived there, a judge voided that sale, saying the archdiocese had the right to sell the property, not the nuns. In November, a jury found Hollister had deliberately intervened in the sale and she was ordered to pay $5 million in legal fees that Perry and the archdiocese incurred. In December, Hollister was ordered to pay another $10 million in December in punitive damages.
Find out what's happening in Echo Park-Silver Lakefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Proceedings in the case were put on hold on Wednesday after Hollister filed for bankruptcy.
Before Holzman's death, she and Callanan told KTTV on Friday they have documents proving they are the rightful owners and said the convent is under direct control of the Vatican. The two also told the news channel they are appealing directly to Pope Francis to give them their convent back.
Find out what's happening in Echo Park-Silver Lakefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"On March 9th, 2018 we tragically lost Sister Catherine Rose, my beloved fellow IHM Sister and original organizer of this GoFundMe campaign," an update posted to a GoFundMe page for the nuns' legal fees said. "She was my cherished partner in this ongoing legal battle to keep our convent. It is now more important than ever to continue this fight and for our cause to prevail."
In her final interview with KTTV, Holzman pleaded directly with Perry.
"And to Katy Perry, please stop. It’s not doing anyone any good except hurting a lot of people,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Patch is a GoFundMe promotional partner.
Image via GoFundMe
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.