Sister Rita Callanan is the final nun standing between Katy Perry and her bid to buy a Los Angles convent. The 79-year-old nun is in active ministry at St. Bernadette’s, despite multiple health problems including diabetes and breast cancer, reports The Daily Beast. But what is most painful to Sister Rita is the death of her friend and fellow sister in the Order of the Sisters of the Most Holy and Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Earlier this month, Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, 89, collapsed and died during a court proceeding in downtown Los Angeles. She and Sister Rita are in the middle of a legal saga against the pop singer. The nuns claim that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was attempting to sell a convent that belongs to them to Perry for $14.5 million. With Sister Catherine’s death, Sister Rita became the sole holdout who remains opposed to the sale. The convent in question is a breathtaking Mediterranean-style villa sitting on eight acres in the tony hills of the Los Feliz neighborhood with a fountain, pool and great view. It was built in 1927 by architect Bernard Maybeck for businessman Earle C. Anthony. The sisters bought the place back in 1972 for $600,000 by pooling income they earned as educators. Sister Rita calls it “holy ground.” Basically, the legal battle is about the which party has the authority to sell the property. The archdiocese claims it is too expensive to have the sisters continue living on the property. A company owned by Perry has already made a cash offer that was approved by the archbishop. Perry has said she intends to live at the estate, along with her mom and grandmother.
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