The Real Estate Battle Between Katy Perry and a Group of Nuns Heats Up

Update: On Friday, the Los Angeles nuns filed legal papers to a Los Angeles court further detailing their opposition to a sale of their estate to Katy Perry. The nuns elaborated on why they believe the archdiocese is illegally selling their property, and reiterated how they in particular do not want to sell to Katy. A hearing on the matter is still scheduled for the end of this month.

Originally published June 29, 2015: Here's a headline you might not be too surprised by: Katy Perry is facing off against a group of nuns. It's not, however, because the sisters are incensed over controversial lyrics or imagery found in Katy's music and videos. Rather, it's because Katy wants to buy a compound in Los Angeles that has been occupied by Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for decades. The whole intriguing tale was detailed in a piece that aired on the Today show.

This isn't just a tale of pop star versus nuns. The situation is actually a lot messier. The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, believing they have the rights to the property, agreed to sell the estate in the trendy neighborhood of Los Feliz for over $15 million to a woman named Dana Hollister. However, the Catholic archdiocese in the region has different ideas. The archdiocese, which likely is the body with the actual ability to sell the convent, plans to finish a $14.5 million all-cash deal with Katy Perry ASAP.

The nuns really, really do not want Katy Perry to become the next owner. They told Today that, in particular, they were offended by her "Dark Horse" video.

Katy, though, wants the convent badly. So badly, in fact, that she recently met with the sisters in a charm offensive and went so far as to sing the song "Oh Happy Day" (yes, the one Whoopi Goldberg sang in Sister Act).

We understand why everyone is up in arms over the estate; it's pretty spectacular. The house was reportedly built in 1927 by architect Bernard Maybeck for a prosperous Angeleno named Earle C. Anthony. It later was sold to the Donohue family, which passed the property on to the nuns in the 1950s. In addition to being a convent, the space has also apparently been used as the Cardinal Timothy Manning House of Prayer For Priests in recent years. Also, the home had a brush with fame when it was used as a location for the recent 90210 series as a rental for actress Jessica Lowndes's character.

There's a court date next month in which this will likely all get ironed out, and we'll see who prevails: Katy or the nuns.