Three Austrian nuns in their 80s who were moved to a Catholic care home last winter have left the facility and returned to their former convent near Salzburg, saying they were taken from Kloster Goldenstein against their will.
Sister Bernadette, 88, Sister Regina, 86, and Sister Rita, 82, re-entered the Schloss Goldenstein complex in Elsbethen at the beginning of September with the assistance of former pupils and a locksmith after the locks to their former apartments had been changed. The women say they were not consulted when they were transferred in December 2023 and assert they had a lifelong right to live at the convent while their health and mental capacity permitted.
When the nuns arrived at the castle that has housed a convent and private school since 1877, there was initially no running water or electricity. Supporters have since partially restored utilities, delivered food and groceries, and arranged medical checks. Videos and photographs posted on social media show the women praying, attending Mass and moving about the building; former students have been among a steady stream of visitors.
Provost Markus Grasl of Reichersberg Abbey, which became the convent's superior after the Archdiocese of Salzburg and the abbey took over the site in 2022, said the nuns' return was "completely incomprehensible" and described it as "an escalation." In a statement he said the rooms were "no longer usable and in no way meet the requirements for proper care," adding that the nuns' "precarious health conditions" made independent living at Goldenstein impractical and that the care home had provided "absolutely essential, professional, and good medical care."
The three sisters spent much of their lives at Schloss Goldenstein, where they worked for many years as teachers; Sister Regina served as headmistress. The school, which became co-educational in 2017, continues to operate alongside the convent building. Sister Bernadette attended the school as a teenager in 1948; one of her classmates was the Austrian actress Romy Schneider.
Church authorities formally dissolved the religious community at the beginning of 2024, while reportedly granting the remaining sisters a lifelong right of residence provided their health and mental capacity allowed. The decision to transfer them to a care home was taken in December 2023. The nuns say their stairlift was removed after they were sent away and that life at the care home left them homesick.
Former students who helped the women return have defended the move. "Goldenstein without the nuns is just not possible," one, Sophie Tauscher, said. Another former pupil, Alisha, said the sisters continued to recognise old students and that alumni would support them. Sister Rita told reporters she had been "always homesick at the care home" and was "so happy and thankful to be back." Sister Bernadette said she had been obedient all her life but felt the transfer went too far and vowed to remain at the convent: "Before I die in that old people's home, I would rather go to a meadow and enter eternity that way."
Provost Grasl reiterated that the archdiocese and Reichersberg Abbey had taken many of the community's wishes into account, including arrangements to continue the school's operations, but said the nuns' return created a situation that raised safety and medical-care concerns. Church officials have not publicly detailed specific next steps to resolve the stand-off.
Local supporters say they will continue to supply food and assistance and that doctors have visited the convent to check on the women. The dispute highlights tensions that can arise when dwindling religious communities, historical properties and institutional care intersect. The situation remains fluid as both the nuns and church authorities maintain their positions.