Austrian nuns on the run

Three octogenarian nuns in Austria have fled their retirement home, hotfooting it back to their longtime former residence, Schloss Goldenstein Convent, close to Salzburg.

Sister Bernadette: "We are finally back home and in the convent."

Sister Bernadette, aged 88, was joined on her escape by Sister Regina, 86, and the baby of the group at just 82, Sister Rita. Having previously all served as teachers at the Catholic school also based in Schloss Goldenstein, many former pupils supported the nuns in their mission, including Martina Krispler.

Martina Krispler: "There are between 100 and 150 of us who currently support the nuns. We do this because the nuns were always warm, loving, and caring toward us during our school days, and we simply disagree with how the Church is treating them".

The Archdiocese of Salzburg and the Rachesberg Abbey, a neighbouring monastery, assumed responsibility for the convent in 2022, allowing the nuns to stay put while their physical and mental capacities permitted. However, in December 2023, the convent's overseer at Rachesberg Abbey, Provost Grasl, deemed the three nuns to require specialist care and arranged places at a nearby Catholic care home. The convent community was then formally dissolved in 2024.

Such was the discontent the nuns felt for their new lodgings, they were left with no option but to abscond, carrying their few personal chattels with them. Despite criticism from the church, Sister Bernadette stands by her decision.

Sister Bernadette: "In his eyes, we have broken it (our vows), but not in our eyes, because the contract states that we are allowed to return or have the right to stay here until we die. And we have exercised this right."

Finding their convent apartments with the locks changed and water and electricity supplies cut off, their former students secured the services of a locksmith and rallied round to ensure the nuns could, eventually, feel at home.

Martina Krispler: "They blossomed from the very first day they were back. Sister Regina was in such bad shape in Karlsberg that she was even given astronaut food to eat. And when I came last week, Sister Regina ate three plates of goulash. So that's a sign that they're doing well and that they're just happy to be back home."

The nuns have sparked discussion within the Catholic church on the wider subject of acting in the interests of the more aged members of its religious orders. View Less