A Spanish court has ruled that a group of excommunicated Poor Clare nuns must vacate the Belorado monastery, siding with the Catholic Church in a long-running legal dispute.

The court found that the women had no legal right to remain in the monastery after breaking from the Church in 2024 and placing themselves under the authority of an excommunicated bishop.

They had attempted to form a civil association to justify their continued residence, but the court dismissed the move as illegitimate.

“This ruling addresses the substance of the matter,” said Carlos Azcona, attorney for the Vatican-appointed commissioner.

“The so-called conventual chapter is nothing more than a gathering of individuals without the authority to meet as such.”

In June 2024, the group was formally excommunicated and expelled from consecrated life after releasing a manifesto claiming the papal seat was "vacant and usurped" and rejecting post–Vatican II teachings.

The court has ordered the women to vacate the property or face forced eviction.