With the help of former students and a locksmith, three Austrian nuns returned to the place they’ve called home for decades.
A Bold Escape Fueled by Homesickness
Three elderly nuns in Austria made headlines after fleeing their Catholic retirement home and returning, without permission, to their old convent. Their motivation was simple: they wanted control over where they would spend the rest of their lives.
Sister Bernadette (88), Sister Regina (86), and Sister Rita (82) had lived at Schloss Goldenstein, a castle-turned-convent outside Salzburg, since they were young adults. For them, the convent wasn’t just a workplace or residence; it was their home, community, and spiritual center for more than half a century.
The castle became a convent in 1877 and served for generations as an all-girls Catholic school. Sister Regina arrived in 1958, Sister Rita in 1962, and Sister Bernadette, even earlier, attended the school there as a teen.
Their plan had always been to retire at the convent. And initially, that plan was supported: the women had been granted a “lifelong right of residence” as long as they could live independently.
But everything changed in 2024.
A Sudden Relocation They Never Asked For
In 2022, control of the convent and school shifted to the Archdiocese of Salzburg and Reichersberg Abbey. As the number of sisters dwindled, the convent was formally dissolved in 2024.
Shortly before the closure, the three remaining nuns were moved to a Catholic care home.
They say they were neither consulted nor given time to adjust.
Sister Bernadette told the BBC:
“We weren’t asked. We had the right to stay here until the end of our lives and that was broken.”
Sadness and homesickness quickly set in. Ultimately, they made a decision:
They were going back home, permission or not.
The Great Escape: Bags Packed, Locksmith Called
With help from former students, the nuns packed their things and returned to Schloss Goldenstein. The convent, shuttered and uninhabited, had:
- No electricity
- No running water
- New locks on their apartment doors
But the sisters were undeterred.
They enlisted a locksmith to access their rooms, and community members helped restore partial electricity and water.
While the three were overjoyed, not everyone was thrilled about their return. Their superior, Provost Markus Grasl of Reichersberg Abbey, raised concerns about their safety. He told CNN:
“The rooms in the monastery are no longer usable and in no way meet the requirements for orderly care… an independent life in the Goldenstein Monastery is no longer possible.”
He added that he feared the sisters:
“are overestimating themselves and that a medical emergency may occur.”
But the Community Isn’t Letting Them Do This Alone
What Provost Grasl may not have anticipated was the outpouring of support surrounding the sisters.
Former students and neighbors now provide:
- Groceries and supplies
- Regular wellness check-ins
- Access to a local physician
- Community support whenever they need it
A former student, Sophie Tauscher, told the BBC:
“Goldenstein without the nuns is just not possible… When they need us, they just have to call us and we will be there, for sure.”
The nuns, in turn, are deeply grateful.
Sister Rita said:
“I am so pleased to be home. I was always homesick at the care home.”
Sister Bernadette was even more candid:
“I have been obedient all my life, but it was too much.”
She added:
“Before I die in that old people’s home, I would rather go to a meadow and enter eternity that way.”
Their determination, and the community’s devotion, has turned their escape into a powerful story about autonomy, dignity, and the meaning of home in later life.
Featured Image from Instagram: nonnen_goldenstein