LOS ANGELES - A story that Katy Perry is trying to buy a convent is tickling Hollywood.

And that is only part of the story splashed on People magazine, US Weekly and Los Angeles news outlets.

The singer is rich enough to plonk down US$14.5 million (S$19.5 million) for the Sisters of the Immaclate Heart of Mary in the Los Feliz part of Los Angeles - she has just been named by Forbes magazine as the world's top-grossing musician, earning US$135 million in the year through June 1.

Two elderly nuns are however battling her to own the property, say reports.

In documents obtained by Us Weekly, Sister Rita Callanan, 77, and Sister Catherine Rose, 86, argue that they have the legal right to sell their former villa-style hilltop home overlooking downtown Los Angeles.

Two weeks ago, they sold it to local restaurateur Dana Hollister for US$15.5 million. They claim to have bought it years after the Los Angeles Archdiocese forced them to move elsewhere.

But the archdiocese filed suit over a week ago to block the sale of the property which is now used as a house of prayer for priests, reported local news website MyNewsLA.

The archdiocese said the sale required its approval and that its lease of the buildings has 77 years left. The lease cannot be terminated without its consent, and Ms Hollister is considering turning it into a boutique hotel.

On Monday, it said Perry, 30, is entitled to purchase the convent as she has offered a better deal to protect the nuns, MyNewsLA reported.

She has agreed to pay about US$14.5 million in cash for it, wrote Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times. Last week a court order allowed her to visit the property with her architect.

She met the nuns in May and sang Oh, Happy Day for them and showed them a Jesus tattoo on her wrist area, wrote Lopez.

"I swear on a Bible," he added about the case.

She also told them she wanted to live on the property with her mother and grandmother, sit in the meditation garden, sip green tea and find herself, he added.

The sisters however had to go on the Net to find out who Perry was.

"Well, I found Katy Perry and I found her videos and... if it's alright to say, I wasn't happy with any of it," Sister Rita told the Times.