2 days ago
17
Three octogenarian nuns who gained a global following after breaking out of their care home and moving back to their abandoned convent near Salzburg have been given leave to stay in the nunnery “until further notice” – on condition they stay off social media, church officials have said.
The rebel sisters – Bernadette, 88, Regina, 86, and Rita, 82, all former teachers at the school adjacent to their convent – broke back into their old home of Goldenstein Castle in Elsbethen in September in defiance of their spiritual superiors.
The story prompted headlines around the world. It also fostered a huge affection for the trio, who have built up a loyal following on social media, where they post regular reports about their tumultuous experience and joy at their return.
They have been helped by local supporters and former pupils, who have provided them with food, clothing, medical care and security and installed a chairlift to enable the three to reach their third-floor cells.
The nuns’ religious superior, Provost Markus Grasl from Reichersberg Abbey, had argued that the sisters had to be placed in a Catholic care home as they were unable to safely live in the old stone convent. He repeatedly accused them of breaking their vows of obedience, a claim the nuns denied.
On Friday, however, church officials said the women could stay at Goldenstein “until further notice” after a proposal put forward by Grasl aimed at resolving the dispute. The nuns are yet to agree to the deal.
Church officials have reportedly said the nuns will be provided with adequate medical care and nursing help, and a priest would be at their disposal to serve regular mass. Over the past months, priests have had to be more or less smuggled into the convent’s chapel to say mass, against the will of church authorities.
after newsletter promotion
The nuns have yet to agree to the proposed solution, reportedly hammered out after a meeting with representative parties on Wednesday. Negotiations were continuing, according to a person close to the nuns, and a response from their lawyer is expected soon.
Among the conditions for them to remain include the cessation of all social media activity, a ban on outside visitors to the convent and the settling of a legal dispute. Should the health conditions of the women deteriorate, they would be registered at the Elsbethen nursing home and placed on the waiting list there.
“Now it’s up to the sisters,” Harald Schiffl, a spokesperson for Grasl, told the Austrian news agency APA.
