Five former Italian nuns have been released from their religious vows after leaving their monastery and establishing an association supporting people with anxiety and depression.

Mother Aline Pereira Ghammachi, who became abbess of the Saints Gervasius and Protasius monastery near Venice in 2018, was credited with helping revive the struggling community through projects including workshops for disabled people and the sale of monastery-made products such as honey, aloe goods and Prosecco.

“Some might have thought the monastery’s dwindling numbers would mean the Church could soon shut it down,” Marco Felipe Perfetti, editor-in-chief of the Catholic news site Silere Non Possum said. “But Mother Aline was young, prepared, and she revived it.”

However, her high-profile approach reportedly caused tensions within the Cistercian Order. Mother Aline told Brazilian media that Mauro-Giuseppe Lepori, head of the order, considered her “too young and too beautiful” and disapproved of the monastery’s Prosecco business.

In 2023, critics accused her of misconduct in a letter to Pope Francis. The following year, the monastery was placed under new management and Mother Aline left. Five nuns later joined her, describing an “unsustainable” atmosphere and saying they had been treated “like mafiose”. They also claimed their “medieval” treatment was “like in a concentration camp”.

The Cistercian Order accused the women of “stealthily abandoning” the monastery and presenting the media with a “completely distorted idea of the real situation”.

Now living in a nearby villa with other former nuns and lay supporters, the group has launched an association called 100 Volte Melius (100 Times Better). It continues to sell products and is working with an NGO to support people with anxiety and depression.

“Our legal status has completely changed because we are no longer affiliated with the diocese or any religious institute,” Mother Aline said on Instagram. “But [we] continue to pray, devote ourselves to the Lord, help others, and move forward with our projects.”