Austrian Nuns Allowed to Stay in Convent with Conditions

Sat Dec 20 2025 15:31:24 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Three elderly nuns who fled a care home can remain in their convent under the stipulation that they cease their social media activities, following a worldwide interest in their story.

Three nuns from Kloster Goldenstein in Austria have been granted permission to stay in their convent after a standoff with church authorities. They must give up their social media presence as part of the agreement. The nuns, who were originally moved to a care home, returned to their convent with support from former students, sparking widespread attention.

Three Austrian nuns in their 80s who ran away from the old people's home where they were placed have been told they can stay in their former convent until further notice.

However, Church authorities say they can only stay if they stop posting on social media.

Sister Bernadette, 88, Sister Regina, who is 86, and 82-year-old Sister Rita are the last three nuns at the Kloster Goldenstein convent in Elsbethen, just outside Salzburg.

The three nuns state that they were taken from the convent against their will in December 2023.

In September, they moved back in with the help of former students and a locksmith, which angered Church officials.

The nuns' superior, Provost Markus Grasl from Reichersberg Abbey, called on them to return to the care home, declaring that their decision to return to the convent was completely incomprehensible.

Their story garnered international attention, with supporters providing food and assistance, including posting videos showcasing the nuns’ daily lives.

These videos feature the nuns during prayer or mealtime, and even include Sister Rita's exercise routines, for which she recently received boxing gloves.

With nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram and thousands on Facebook, the nuns have found fame online.

Following a lengthy standoff, a spokesman from the provost stated that the nuns could remain at Kloster Goldenstein on the condition that they halt their social media activities and restrict access to non-members of the order in certain areas of the convent.

These conditions would allow the nuns to continue receiving medical care and spiritual support from a priest.

The nuns have yet to respond to or agree upon these conditions.

Now it's up to the sisters, said Harald Schiffl, the provost's spokesman.

The nuns have spent the majority of their lives at Schloss Goldenstein, a historic site that has served as both a convent and a private girls' school since 1877. Sister Bernadette, for instance, attended the school as a teenager, reminiscing about her time with fellow student Romy Schneider, a celebrated actress of the 1960s and 70s.

As the nun population diminished, the property transitioned to the Archdiocese of Salzburg in 2022, leading to the eventual dissolution of their community in early 2024.

While they were promised a lifelong residence as long as they remain mentally and physically able, their relocation to a care home was an unhappy experience, fueling their determination to return to the convent.

Despite officials' insistence, the nuns expressed a strong desire to remain at the convent, with Sister Bernadette stating, Before I die in that old people's home, I would rather go to a meadow and enter eternity that way.