A group of three elderly Catholic nuns is happy to be back at their former convent in Austria after leaving a retirement home.
“I am so pleased to be home,” 82-year-old Sister Rita told the BBC about returning to the Kloster Goldenstein convent in Elsbethen, near Salzburg. “I was always homesick at the care home. I am so happy and thankful to be back.”
Sister Rita, Sister Bernadette, 88, and Sister Regina, 86, all former teachers, are the last three nuns living at the convent during a time when the Roman Catholic Church is seeing fewer nunneries, The New York Times reported.
In 2022, their lives changed when Markus Grasl, an abbot, took over managing the convent. The nuns were reportedly asked to leave because a church rule says an order must have at least six living members, the Times reported.
In December 2023, the decision was made to move the nuns to a Catholic retirement home, according to the BBC. Grasl’s spokesperson told the Times that the nuns agreed to the move, but the sisters denied this.
On September 4, with help from former students, Sister Rita, Sister Bernadette, and Sister Regina left the retirement home and returned to the convent, the Times reported. A locksmith helped them get back inside the building, which had no running water or electricity at the time.
“I have been obedient all my life, but it was too much,” Sister Bernadette told the BBC about leaving the retirement home.
Grasl called the situation “completely incomprehensible” in a statement to CNN and said the women had been part of discussions about their future.
“The rooms in the monastery are no longer usable and in no way meet the requirements for orderly care,” Grasl said. “It is clear that an independent life in the Goldenstein Monastery is no longer possible, particularly due to the sisters’ fragile health.”
He also warned that the sisters might be “overestimating themselves” and that a medical emergency could happen.
About two weeks after their return, the convent now has lights, refrigerators, and other basic amenities thanks to help from their supporters, the Times reported.
“Goldenstein without the nuns is just not possible,” Sophie Tauscher, a former student, told the BBC. “When they need us, they just have to call and we will be there. The nuns here changed so many lives in a good way.”
Although happy to be home, the sisters worry about being evicted by church officials.
“I’m filled with immense joy and gratitude that I can be back,” Sister Rita told France 24. “In our familiar buildings, in our so-called cloister, and all around it, and I can go back to the children again if we are allowed to.”
“We remain in this convent until our death,” Sister Bernadette added.
A spokesperson for Grasl told the Times that church authorities had no plans to speak with the nuns.
