ATTLEBORO — What’s it going to take? Divine intervention?

It seemed a simple request when three nuns asked the city to install a crosswalk so they could walk safely to their shrine.

But city government moves in mysterious ways. Last month, the Attleboro Municipal Council rejected their plea.

Now, shrine officials are proposing a new idea: a digital sign on church property proclaiming “Nuns Crossing.’’

The illuminated warning, visible to drivers, could be activated remotely by one nun’s smartphone, said Brother Ron Taylor, maintenance director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette. (The other two nuns have flip phones, he said.)

A private donor has offered money for the sign, and a local electrician volunteered to install it, said Councilor Peter Blais.

“We have moose crossing and deer crossing throughout the state,’’ he said. “I think it would be advantageous to everyone who wants to enhance the safety of the nuns.’’

The sign has yet to receive the blessing of the Municipal Council, which is examining the idea.

“If we’re not going to have a crosswalk there, we need to have some signage alerting motorists to the fact that there are nuns crossing at that particular location,’’ said Frank B. Cook, the council president. “There has to be some way we can help.’’

Brother Ron, in the meantime, has outfitted the nuns with fluorescent yellow vests that they wear over their black habits. But he worries the nuns are still putting their lives in danger every time they walk from the shrine to their home just across Park Street, where cars and trucks routinely barrel past the 35-mile-per-hour speed limit.

Much to his frustration, the city, he said, also rejected the idea of installing a blinking yellow light on Park Street, deeming it too costly at $50,000.

“If my sisters get hit or get killed, the city is going to have more than a $50,000 bill to worry about,’’ Brother Ron said.

He said he first brought his concerns about the nuns’ safety to city officials earlier this year, as the sisters prepared to move into a tan, two-story house that the church had rehabilitated just across the street from its sprawling shrine.

Several councilors sympathetic to the sisters’ plight introduced a proposal to install a crosswalk in front of the home. Many assumed it would pass easily. After all, who can say no to nuns?

The answer: Heather J. Porreca, chairwoman of the traffic and transportation committee, who said “my mother is going to shoot me’’ for opposing the sisters’ request.

She said city officials determined that the location did not meet federal guidelines because the roadway doesn’t provide the required 165-foot sight line that gives cars enough time to stop.

“It would make it unsafe for drivers, and provide a false sense of security for the nuns,’’ she said.

Other councilors said that if the city consecrated a crosswalk for three nuns, it would have to do so for the thousands of other residents who want one in front of their homes.

On Feb. 21, the council voted 6-4 to deny the sisters’ crosswalk request.

“It doesn’t feel good to say no to nuns, but I have to make a determination on the safety of the roadway and not necessarily what the occupation of the people is,’’ Porreca said.

Brother Ron said he was stunned by the decision. The nuns were also taken aback.

“We are not only asking for us, but all people, especially those who come here every day,’’ Sister Mila de la Cruz told a local television station, WPRI, last month.

Sister Francoise Rasoarivao told the station that the vote showed “how the value of money is more important than the value of the human being.’’

Cook, the council president, said he was also disappointed. The city has in the past approved crosswalks at locations that don’t meet federal guidelines, he said, including one that allows children to walk to a playground.

Earlier this month, he and several other councilors introduced a new proposal to investigate “appropriate signage’’ that could help the sisters safely traverse Park Street.

That proposal is currently pending and is expected to be the subject of talks among the police chief, the highway director, and city councilors. If approved, it could lead to the city’s official anointing of the shrine’s own “Nuns Crossing’’ sign.

Brother Ron said he is frustrated by the controversy the nuns’ crossing has generated and hopes the city can find a swift solution to ensure the sisters’ safe passage to church.

“I just don’t understand,’’ he said. “Here we are, looking for maybe a couple of signs that say people crossing and — my God — to me, it’s just gone way out of whack.’’

Levenson can be reached at michael.levenson@globe.com.