Three elderly nuns in Austria have captured international attention after fleeing a retirement home in early September and returning to their former convent, defying their religious superior’s orders.
The unusual story, reported with new developments Sept. 26 by The Guardian, describes how Augustinian Sisters Bernadette, 88, Regina, 86, and Rita, nearly 82, left a care home earlier this month and moved back into Schloss Goldenstein, their convent near Salzburg. Their decision has sparked both criticism from church leadership and waves of support from former students, locals, and tens of thousands of followers online.
Their superior, Provost Markus Grasl of Reichersberg Abbey, accused the women of breaking the vow of obedience and insisted the convent was unsafe for them to inhabit at their advanced ages. He argued that placing them in alternative housing was an act of responsibility.
But the sisters say they were forced into the retirement home against their will and never imagined being separated permanently from the convent they had each called home for decades.
“We had been told we had the right to stay in the convent until we died, according to the law and a contract we signed,” Sr. Bernadette told The Guardian. “Could we have thought we would be betrayed like this? Never.”
The escape was carefully planned. With the help of loyal former pupils, the sisters were taken from the care home Sept. 4, accompanied by journalists who promised to keep the operation secret. A locksmith, electrician, and plumber helped secure and reconnect the convent so the women could live there again.
Since their return, news on the sisters’ lives has been broadcast to an expanding audience. More than 50,000 people now follow updates on social media. Volunteers — around 200 in total — have stepped in to provide meals, medical assistance, and even a small security team.
What the nuns say they miss most, however, is regular Mass. Aside from one 94-year-old retired priest, no clergy have yet volunteered to serve. Organizers suggest many are afraid of repercussions from the Church.
The sisters also say that while they were away, the convent was stripped of cherished belongings, including personal photographs, teaching notes, and letters from former pupils. A stair lift that allowed access to their living quarters was also removed.
Grasl rejected these claims, saying rooms were cleared only of spoiled food and that under their vows, the women “should have no private possessions in that sense anyway, according to their vows.”
Despite the tensions, supporters continue to rally. American folk singer Elisabeth von Trapp, granddaughter of Maria von Trapp, visited the convent to encourage them, bringing roses and telling them to “stay brave,” Sr. Rita recalled.
The nuns say they remain hopeful that Pope Leo XIV, himself an Augustinian, will intervene.
“He is in our prayers, at least,” Sr. Rita told The Guardian. For now, they continue to welcome visitors into their chapel, inviting all to join them in praying the Rosary. As they await clarity about their future, the sisters repeat a phrase that has sustained them: “We are in God’s hands.”
The post Elderly Austrian nuns defy orders, flee retirement home to return to their convent appeared first on CatholicVote org.