Spain's Guardia Civil detained Laura García de Viedma, the former abbess of Belorado convent, and an antiquarian on Thursday for alleged undue appropriation and receipt of historical pieces from the monastery. The arrests followed searches at the Burgos convent and another in Orduña. The probe began after spotting potential patrimony items in the antiques market.
Spain's Guardia Civil conducted a search at the Monastery of Santa María de la Bretonera in Belorado, Burgos, from early morning on November 27, 2025, ending in the afternoon with the arrest of Laura García de Viedma, previously known as Sister Isabel de la Trinidad. The former abbess leads a group of nuns excommunicated in 2024 for rebelling against the Vatican, rejecting Vatican II and later doctrines, leading to a 'Catholic Manifesto' that invalidated popes after John XXIII and labeled Francis a heretic.
The probe, overseen by the Court of First Instance in Briviesca and the Organic Unit of Judicial Police from the Burgos Command, focuses on crimes of aggravated undue appropriation and receipt. It started after detecting antiques market items potentially from the convent's historical patrimony. Guardia Civil sources confirmed a search also at the Orduña convent in Bizkaia, home to five non-excommunicated elderly nuns transferred from Belorado in July. Searches seized movable goods, sculptures, artworks, and computers to verify inventory.
Besides Viedma, an antiquarian involved in the sales was detained. The ex-nuns, via Instagram, decried the 'surprise raid' and treatment, stating: 'We have committed no crime and have nothing to hide.' They warned of 'unjust reputational damage' and claimed full cooperation with authorities.
This case adds to ongoing Briviesca proceedings: one for fraud in selling 1.7 kg of gold for 121,000 euros, involving Viedma and two others (Susana Mateo, Sister Sion, and Zayda Pinar, Sister Myryam); another for scams tied to renting Derio's guesthouse to a German businessman. Evictions loom in Belorado, Derio, and Orduña following rulings favoring the Archdiocese of Burgos, with Mario Iceta as pontifical commissioner. A Bilbao court recently admitted an eviction suit for Derio.
