Three Austrian nuns in their 80s have run away from the retirement home where they were placed and have gone back to their former convent. Sister Bernadette (88), Sister Regina (86) and Sister Rita (82) are the last three nuns at the Kloster Goldenstein convent in Elsbethen, just outsize Salzburg. They regained access with the help of former students and a locksmith.
Church authorities aren’t happy, but the nuns are. The trio say they were taken out of the convent against their will in December 2023. The three nuns have spent much of their lives at Schloss Goldenstein, a castle which has been a convent and private girls’ school since 1877. Sister Bernadette arrived at the school as a teenager in 1948, Sister Regina arrived in 1958, and Sister Rita four years later. All three went to work at the school as teachers for many years, with Sister Regina being the headmistress. In 2022, the building was taken over by the Archdiocese of Salzburg and the religious community was officially dissolved at the beginning of 2024. The remaining nuns were granted lifelong right of residence, as long as their health and mental capacity allowed, but in December 2023 the decision was made to transfer them to a Catholic care home. When the nuns first arrived back at their old convent, there was no electricity or water, but volunteers got them up and running. Supporters are providing groceries, and the nuns have been seen by doctors. There’s a steady stream of visitors, many of whom are their former students. The nuns say they are determined to stay. “Before I die in that old people’s home, I would rather go to a meadow and enter eternity that way,” said Sister Bernadette. So far, no one has challenged the nuns for living at the convent.
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| Kloster Goldenstein |
