Fire Damages Italian Monastery
A fire severely damaged the 17th-century Bernaga Monastery outside of Milan in northern Italy, forcing 21 cloistered nuns to flee the blaze.
The fire broke out around 7:30 p.m. on October 11, as the nuns were watching a live television stream of Pope Leo XIV’s prayer vigil for peace in St. Peter's.
The women all escaped without harm, but the monastery, which was built in 1628, was nearly destroyed. Nine firefighting teams intervened to put out the blaze.
The Archdiocese of Milan reported that the fire destroyed documents, religious artifacts, and the nuns’ personal belongings, though the religious sisters managed to save some paintings and a relic of St. Ambrose.
Notably, this monastery is also where St. Carlo Acutis received his first Communion.
No statement from the authorities on the cause of the fire has been released yet.
Author's summary: Fire damages historic Italian monastery.