When three nuns in their 80s escape from a nursing home and return to their former convent in Salzburg, Austria, they become stars overnight.
Almost every major news outlet covered them. They gained 100,000 followers on Instagram. So they posted a daily routine that combines prayer, community interaction, and even more amazingly, boxing to stay healthy.
Now, three months later, the local diocese has granted permission for Sister Regina (86 years old), Sister Rita (81 years old) and Sister Bernadette (88 years old) to stay at Goldenstein Castle. However, this is only possible if you agree to certain conditions.
The nuns will have to close their social media accounts and return to more secluded convent life, and will be placed back on nursing home waiting lists in case the convent cannot provide care.
In the meantime, they will be provided with 24-hour medical care and spiritual guidance from a priest, according to a statement released by their boss, Rector Markus Grasl, on Friday.
The nuns returned to Goldenstein Castle, the convent and girls’ school in the Alps where they had spent most of their lives, on September 4, after helping several of their former students escape from the nursing home and arranging a locksmith to get them back into the building.
This comes after nearly two years of dispute between the nuns and Grassle, which began in late 2023, with the nuns claiming they were forced out of the convent against their will.
In August, the controversy further escalated when nuns made several allegations against Grasl and the Archdiocese of Salzburg in the Austrian press.
At first glance, Friday’s proposal appears to resolve that dispute and allow the nuns to stay in loving homes under conditions acceptable to the Catholic Church.
However, a lawyer representing the women said the terms were very restrictive and would not recommend they accept the offer, CNN affiliate ORF reported. CNN has reached out to the nuns for comment.
Since the nuns returned to the convent, it has been the focus of community efforts to keep them there. On her Instagram account, the nuns say they are sharing videos of workers installing stairlifts in the convent, and of the nuns participating in candle-making and whistling classes with former students.
In a statement, Grassle thanked the nuns’ helpers but said their efforts were no longer needed. He also suggested that the donations the nuns received could instead be donated to missionary projects.
