In an interview with the Daily Mail, Callanan explained that she and the other remaining four nuns at the Order of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Los Angeles had secure futures thanks to money raised from ventures such as using their grand convent as a filming location.
Each had upwards of $215,000 in their accounts to cover the costs of old age. But, Callanan says, in 2005, a "pontifical commissary" put in place by the LA Archbishop started "sending us to retirement homes, one by one, separately, so we weren't a unit".
The divide between the Order – who claim they answer to the Vatican – and the archdiocese has become more pronounced in recent years with the sale of the former convent.
While the archdiocese have sold the 25-bedroom property to Perry, the nuns claim that it is theirs to sell, and negotiated their own sale to local restaurateur and chef Dana Hollister. After years of legal battles, Hollister has been declared bankrupt, putting the sale on hold once more.
Holzner was supporting Hollister at a bankruptcy hearing on March 9 when she died in court. In order to keep up the legal costs, Callanan has started a GoFundMe page to continue the battle alone – her three surviving sisters are not actively participating in fighting Perry.
Callanan said of Holzner: "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."
She emphasised that the Archbishop would get control of the property once the last of the elderly order had died:
"All we are asking is to sell our own property, keep our own money so we can take care of ourselves until the last person dies, then the money and property can go to the archbishop. There's not many more years, give me a break. He's supposed to be a chief shepherd."
