Three elderly nuns in Austria have returned to their former convent after leaving a Catholic care home where they say they were placed against their will. With the help of former students and a locksmith, the women broke into the building, restored basic utilities and are now refusing to leave.

The nuns, aged 82 to 88, were the last remaining members of the Kloster Goldenstein community in Elsbethen, a town near the city of Salzburg in Austria’s Salzburg state, before the convent was officially dissolved in early 2024.

The building, a castle that had served as a girls’ private school and religious community since 1877, was taken over by the Archdiocese of Salzburg and the Reichersberg Abbey in 2022, according to The Telegraph.

Sister Bernadette, 88, who first entered the convent as a student in 1948, said they were moved to a Catholic care facility in December 2023 without being consulted.

“We weren’t asked. We had the right to stay here until the end of our lives and that was broken,” she was quoted as saying.

Sister Regina, 86, joined the convent in 1958 and eventually became the headmistress of the school. Sister Rita, 82, arrived in 1962 and, like the others, spent decades teaching at the institution.

The school, which began accepting boys in 2017, remains operational. But by 2023, only the three women were left. After the community was dissolved, they were granted lifelong residence rights at the convent, conditional on their physical and mental health.

Markus Grasl, provost of Reichersberg Abbey and the sisters’ new superior, later determined that independent living at the castle was no longer viable and arranged for their transfer to a retirement home.

The nuns said they had long felt uncomfortable and out of place at the care home.

Sister Bernadette said she would rather die alone in a field than spend her final days in the retirement home.

Earlier this month, they quietly packed their belongings and returned to the convent with the assistance of former students. Finding their quarters locked and utilities disconnected, they called in a locksmith, brought in generators and water canisters and began restoring the space.

Power and water have now been partially restored.

A stream of visitors, including many former pupils, have arrived with food, medicine and other supplies. A doctor has examined the women and continues to monitor their condition. One former student, Sophie Tauscher, said, “Goldenstein without the nuns is just not possible,” according to the BBC.

The three nuns now occupy their old rooms, which had been stripped of electricity, water and even the stairlift used to navigate the steep staircase. In videos posted to Instagram, they are seen praying, eating meals together and climbing the stairs unaided.

In one video, Sister Rita challenged viewers to a race to prove her mobility. Their posts have drawn widespread support, with hundreds of messages cheering them on.

Provost Grasl has said the sisters’ return was “completely incomprehensible” and described it as “an escalation.” He insisted that the care home had provided them with “absolutely essential, professional, and good medical care.”

Grasl said the convent’s current condition made it unsuitable for elderly residents and that the women’s wishes regarding the school’s operation had already been considered.

The Austrian Conference of Religious Orders has supported Grasl’s position, saying the convent’s condition makes it unfit for habitation. However, the sisters remain defiant and appear determined to stay. They said they do not view themselves as squatters or intruders but as rightful residents reclaiming their home.

The sisters have not received any formal notice to leave and have continued to receive visits from former students and supporters. Their most recent video shows them at prayer in a small chapel within the convent.

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/nuns-escape-from-retirement-home-return-to-convent.html