Nuns Regina, 86, Rita, 81, and Bernadette, 88, have taken up residence in their old convent. Angelika Warmuth/Reuters
As mentioned by CNN
Three octogenarian nuns from Austria defied the diocese’s ruling: they escaped from the retirement home and returned to their former convent in Salzburg, where they are now occupying its premises.
On September 4, sisters Regina, 86, Rita, 81, and Bernadette, 88, returned to Schloss Goldenstein – an Alpine monastery and a girls’ school, where they had spent most of their lives, much to the surprise of the local church community.
There they found that the former residence lacked electricity and hot water, so their supporters provided them with water and emergency generators, according to local media.
Former students of the sisters are helping and organizing a daily routine, while a family doctor is available to provide medical care, according to the media.
Since returning to the monastery, the sisters have become active on Instagram, gathering over 10,000 followers in a little over a week. In their feed, they document the daily prayer cycle, meals, and shared participation in Masses, and they now frequently give interviews to journalists from around the world.
Dispute with the Abbot and the Future of the Convent
The long-running conflict between the sisters and their abbot, Marcus Grasl, traces back to the end of 2023, when the sisters claimed they were forcibly expelled from the monastery.
However the tension escalated last month when the sisters leveled several accusations against him and the Archdiocese of Salzburg in the press.
When the sisters left the retirement home, Grasl issued a statement that the situation was “completely incomprehensible” to him, adding that the women had engaged in “intense discussions” about the future.
“The monastery premises are no longer fit for use and do not meet the standards of proper care in any way.”
On September 6, another statement was issued in which he expressed concern that the sisters “overestimate their capabilities and a medical emergency could arise.”
The long-term future of the nuns in the monastery remains uncertain, although there is currently electricity and hot water in their rooms. They continue to oppose returning to the retirement home.
“Before I die in that old retirement home, it would be better to go out to the meadow and thus enter eternity.”
A representative of Reichersberg Abbey, which oversees the monastery, said that returning to the retirement home is “inevitable”.
“Returning to the retirement home is inevitable.”
According to local media, the further prospects of the nuns’ stay at the monastery depend on their health, but for now there is electricity and hot water there, and they continue to defend their choice to remain outside the retirement home.
