The 47-year-old Italian woman, who has not been named, moved from convent to convent to evade prison after a 2017 conviction for fraud.

She phoned convents pretending to be a mother superior from another convent, asking them to host one of their nuns or, in some cases, the niece of a nun.

Although her story convinced a number of convents, one in northern Italy became suspicious and called in the police, who confirmed her identity, The Times reports.

A search of her possession turned out a number of keys she had stolen from other convents.