A nun involved in a property dispute with Katy Perry has died during the court case. Sister Catherine Rose Holzman, aged 89, reportedly collapsed in court on Friday.
Holzman was one of two nuns caught in a legal battle with the singer and the Los Angeles Catholic Church over a former convent in the city. Perry had purchased the property back in 2015 for $14.5m (£10.4m) but never got the keys to the premises as the two nuns objected to the star buying the religious building.
Despite Perry’s attempts to win over the nuns, including showing them her Jesus tattoo and singing hymns, they weren’t happy with the convent going into her hands. ‘I found her videos... I wasn't happy with any of it,’ Sister Rita Callanan told the Los Angeles Times in 2015.
The nuns went ahead without permission of the Catholic Church and sold the property to a local restaurant owner Dana Hollister instead. As the property was worth over $7.5m they should have requested consent of Archbishop Jose Gomez and the Vatican. Subsequently, a 2017 court ruled that the nuns shouldn't have sold the convent, and both Perry and the Catholic church were awarded almost $10 million in damages.
The case has now been put on hold following Holzman’s death. Speaking to Fox11 LA a few hours before her collapse, Holzman pleaded with Perry. ‘To Katy Perry, please stop. It's not doing anyone any good except hurting a lot of people.’