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A tempestuous dispute over winemaking at a secluded Italian abbey has culminated in the dramatic departure of several nuns and the intervention of the Vatican, ultimately leading to the dismissal of a Mother Superior. The saga, centered around the cash-strapped Monastery of Saints Gervasio and Protasio in Vittorio Veneto, northern Italy, began when Mother Superior Aline Pereira Ghammachi arrived in 2018 with innovative ideas to boost the convent's finances.
Among her initiatives was instructing the traditionally cloistered Cistercian sisters to brew and bottle their own prosecco. This proposal, however, met with resistance from a group of nuns belonging to the ancient Cistercian Order, who largely avoid engagement with the outside world and were unwilling to abandon their long-held principles.
The situation reached a boiling point when Abbess Aline was photographed holding a bottle of the abbey's prosecco alongside the local mayor at a charity event. This public display proved to be the final straw for four of the nuns, who, in a bold move in 2022, fled the convent and penned a letter to Pope Francis. In their correspondence, they accused Mother Aline of violating their strict cloistered lifestyle.
Following two years of deliberations and exchanges, the news broke on Easter Monday – coincidentally the same day Pope Francis passed away – that Mother Aline had been dismissed from her position.
Speaking to local media, Mother Aline confirmed her removal, stating, "Two years ago, some of the nuns sent a letter to Pope Francis accusing me of mistreatment. Initially, the accusations were dropped, thanks to the testimonies of other nuns and other interventions. In the meantime, some balances have changed, and on Easter Monday I was dismissed."
The nunnery, situated approximately 40 miles north of Venice, is now reportedly under the leadership of an 81-year-old traditionalist nun, who is expected to discontinue the abbey's entrepreneurial ventures, including the controversial prosecco production.
However, this resolution has failed to quell the unrest within the monastic community. In response to the Vatican's intervention and Mother Aline's dismissal, five of her loyalist nuns have reportedly left the abbey to seek a new religious home, viewing the decision as unjust and far from "divine." This internal conflict underscores the deep divisions created by the attempt to modernize the abbey's income streams and the clash between tradition and necessity within the cloistered order. The future of the Monastery of Saints Gervasio and Protasio remains uncertain as it grapples with the fallout from this unprecedented row.
