A historic monastery in the northern Italian commune of La Valletta Brianza went up in flames during the weekend, resulting in 21 nuns being evacuated from the 17th-century building.
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As reported by Italian outlet Corriere della Sera, the incident occurred at around 8 p.m., on Saturday, October 11. The fire broke out on the roof of the Bernaga Monastery, located just outside of Milan. Reportedly, the Ambrosian nuns were watching Pope Leo XIV’s live prayer vigil on TV.
Multiple fire department teams from various regions responded to the scene to contain the fire. While 21 were evacuated from the building, firefighters fought to contain the fire while also trying to preserve the monastery’s valuable art.
Unfortunately, the hours-long fire resulted in the 1628 building being nearly destroyed, according to the Catholic News Agency. The Archdiocese of Milan confirmed that the fire destroyed religious artifacts, the nun’s personal belongings, and some documents.
“We still don’t know what really caused the fire, and we will probably never know, since almost everything has been destroyed,” Father Emanuele Colombo said. “Thank God the nuns were quick to call for help and get to safety in a matter of minutes.
“Unfortunately, when the fire department arrived, the monastery was already completely engulfed in flames.”
Saved Items
However, in an effort to preserve some of the monastery’s most valuable items, some nuns managed to save some works of art, including paintings. One item that was promptly saved was a relic of the recently canonized St. Carlo Acutis. Reportedly, the saint received his First Communion in the Bernaga Monastery back in 1998.
Region Councilor Massimo Sertorio confirmed that 19 nuns are now hosted by the Little Apostles in Ponte Lambro. The remaining two nuns were transported to a hospital in Erba, an Italian commune. Sertorio explained that the fire was probably caused by a short circuit in one of the nun’s cells.
“A due THANK YOU to the firefighters, who intervened in a timely manner with 9 teams from Lecco, Monza Brianza and Como,” Sertori added. “The operations of extinguishing and securing what remains of the monastery are still underway.”