Overview
- The works, dating mainly from the 14th to 17th centuries, were recovered or placed in custody after judicial searches of the Belorado and Orduña convents.
- Guardia Civil says the transfer was linked to a presumed intent to sell, while the nuns insist the items were relocated to protect them and for use in worship.
- Highlights include a 14th-century Christ, two 17th-century oils (the Immaculate Conception and the Stigmatization of St. Francis), a 1556 testament by abbess María de Velasco, and a 16th-century Virgin of Bretonera.
- The pieces are under the Briviesca court’s custody for technical study and cataloguing with Museo de Burgos support, with transfer planned to Vatican-appointed commissioner Archbishop Mario Iceta.
- The operation, referred to as MIRUM-CID, began after market monitoring flagged a suspicious antiquity; the ex-abbess, another nun, and a León antiques dealer were arrested and later released provisionally.