A pair of Irish nuns were arrested in violation of the coronavirus pandemic restrictions for attending an exorcism for Irish leaders, according to a report.
Sister Irene Gibson and Sister Anne Marie traveled across Emerald Island to expel alleged evil spirits from the President of Ireland and the nation’s top legislators, according to the Irish examiner.
But their habits rejected closure measures, which banned residents from traveling more than five miles from their home, according to the newspaper.
The December 8 exorcism expedition from Cork to Dublin covered some 135 miles.
The delivery of the Dáil Éireann, an organ of the Irish legislature, was followed by an open-air mass attended by some 70 people. Under Irish blockade rules, it was not allowed to gather more than 15 people outdoors at that time.
A video of the exorcism shows Father Giacomo Ballini, of the exploding group The Society of St Pius Resistance, sprinkling holy water on an Irish government building while praying for Satan to “leave this place”.
The sisters, of the Carmelite Sisters of the Holy Face of Jesus, had previously been convicted of violating planning regulations while establishing a religious refuge, according to the examiner.
They were reportedly ordered to leave their premises for non-compliance.
But the nuns will not run away: a GoFundMe site to help with the relocation had raised about $ 100,000 on Monday afternoon.
Both the priest, who preaches from a farmhouse in County Cork, and the Carmelite sisters of the Holy Face of Jesus, operate independently of the Catholic Church, the newspaper reports.