Nuns on the run after Pope called in to help resolve row over prosecco brewing

Brazil-born Mother Aline Pereira Ghammachi wound up her fellow nuns with her business idea (Picture: Newsflash/NX)

A dramatic row over wine-making in a secluded Italian abbey has left a top nun feeling blue.

Mother Superior Aline Pereira Ghammachi was brought in to help the cash-strapped Monastery of Saints Gervasio and Protasio in Vittorio Veneto, northern Italy, generate a bit of income.

Among her more novel ideas upon her arrival in 2018 was ordering the traditionalist sisters to begin brewing and bottling their own prosecco.

But the site is home to a group of nuns who belong to the ancient Cistercian Order, which largely shuns the outside world – and they were reluctant to shake the habit of a lifetime.

When the abbess was pictured holding a bottle of the holy plonk alongside the local mayor at a charity do, it was the final straw.

Four of the nuns made the bold move of fleeing the convent and writing a letter to Pope Francis in 2022, accusing Mother Aline of violating their cloistered principles.

After a couple of years going back and forth, it emerged on Easter Monday – the same day the pontiff died – that the abbess had been sacked.

Mother Aline told local media: ‘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 Monastery of Saints Gervasio and Protasio in Vittorio Veneto (Picture: Newsflash/NX)

The nunnery, located around 40 miles north of Venice, is now being run by an 81-year-old traditionalist who is expected to scrap the entrepreneurial ventures.

However, the move has failed to put a cork in the row.

Five Mother Aline loyalists have stormed out to find a new home in response to the intervention, saying it is anything but divine.

One of the defectors said: ‘The climate that had been established in the monastery had become unbearable, so we decided to leave.

‘We left and went to a safe and protected place. Some of us went to the police so as not to create any alarm and so that they would not come looking for us.’

The abbess learned she had been let go on the day of Pope Francis’s death (Picture: EPA)

In an effort to bring a bit of calm back into the place, the Vatican has installed a pontifical commissioner and advisors.

Meanwhile, Mother Aline says she will consult with God – and a few lawyers – to work out her next steps.

She said: ‘What I say is that now I pray for the truth to come out, for the love of God and the mission that we carry out.

‘We had always been a united group, with a single purpose, to help the community and support the monastery.

‘The decision came suddenly and so far I have not seen evidence of my shortcomings or faults.’

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