In a bold act that combines deep love for their past home and a refusal to quietly follow orders, three elderly Austrian nuns have taken headlines around the world. Sisters Bernadette (88), Regina (86), and Rita (82), who are now lovingly called the “defiant nuns,” left their assisted-living facility to move back into the crumbling Kloster Goldenstein near Salzburg. The nuns are now living there against the wishes of the local diocese. Their moving mix of faith, grit, and insistence on choosing their own last chapter has struck a chord, earning them over 10,000 followers on Instagram and driving important discussions on elderly dignity and quiet promises of lifelong love.
The Great Escape: Coming Once Again to Sacred Space
On September 4, 2025, the sisters quietly carried out their plan. Using a former pupil’s help and a locksmith, they slipped back through the doors of the convent they had devoted their lives to. The church, however, did not greet them with open arms. Their superior, Provost Markus Grasl from Reichersberg Abbey, called the move “entirely puzzling,” worrying more about their age, their health, and the peeling state of the old building.
When they first got there, three nuns were met with tough conditions: no power, no running water, and a jammed kitchen drain. The stairlift they used was gone. Still, they pressed on, sweeping floors and lighting candles, slowly bringing life back to the convent. Friends and former students heard the call and pulled together, bringing generators, drinking water, meals, and even check-ups from kind doctors. For these sisters, walking through the door wasn’t just a homecoming; it was a powerful promise kept to God.
A Lifetime of Service and Broken Promises
Sisters Bernadette, Regina, and Rita grew up at Schloss Goldenstein. This old castle opened as a convent and school way back in 1877. Bernadette first stepped in as a student in 1948, sharing lessons with future star Romy Schneider. Regina entered in 1958, and Rita followed in 1962. All three carried the same service badge: teacher. Regina even wore the extra badge of headmistress, guiding hearts and minds in the same halls they used to walk as girls.
When the ranks of nuns grew thin, the Archdiocese of Salzburg and Reichersberg Abbey stepped in to manage the estate in 2022. The sisters say they were assured that they could finish their days on the property so long as their health and minds allowed. Yet in December 2023 they were moved, without consultation, to a church-run care home in Oberalm. “We never had a say,” lamented Sister Bernadette. “We were owed the promise to die here, and that promise vanished.”
Life in the Abbey and Worldwide Friendship
The sisters, now back in the Abbey, have transformed their daily life into an Instagram chronicle—prayers, simple meals, attendance at Mass, and once, the lifting of a clogged sink. Their raw honesty has moved audiences everywhere, and past pupils, like Sophie Tauscher, have stepped up: “Goldenstein without nuns is a fairy-tale end. Whenever they need us, whole past-hours squad comes.”
With the church home locking their small retirement savings, the nuns rely on a small but brave group of volunteers for food and warmth. “If I die in that home, I die on the crumbs,” Sister Bernadette once declared. “Let me wander to the Jedi meadows that way.”
Church Response and Ethical Dilemmas
Provost Grasl holds that the elderly nuns must have formal medical supervision and insists that the convent “in no way provides the orderly care that the law requires.” Reichersberg Abbey insists that going back to a nursing facility is “mandatory.” The sisters themselves respond that being moved is a burden because their physical needs are lesser than their spiritual mission. Sister Bernadette spoke plainly, “We are simply still carrying our vows… This is not a fault.”
This conflict raises wider issues: who has the authority to decide how an elderly vow is honored, and how vows of forever are to be interpreted when hearts and bodies change? must pronouncements about remaining forever override the very stories and values that formed the convent walls? and is the most respectful care the kind that holds the soul first and the medical chart second?
The Future of the Convent
What comes next is still a guess. The nuns have reconnected a few lights and heaters, yet beam rot and crumbling slate still whisper for repair. The little school still welcomes boys and girls, though the orderly silence of chanting sisters is now silent save for these three strong women resolutely taking the morning prayers. Their continued presence is a slow-motion reminder that convents, like cells of the body, harbor an immune memory taking injury and resisting even after the law and the estate says no.
Their quiet refusal of the orderly route has sparked wider conversations on how a society honors those whose vows are vows of presence. One observer, now a teacher, remarked, “These sisters shaped so many lives so beautifully.” Their little saga still rides the thin frame of a vow and the widow-town of habit.
Conclusion: A Symbol of Resilience
The bold nuns of Goldenstein Convent stand as shining symbols of resilience and unwavering faith. Their odyssey—from neglected care home to reclaimed sanctuary—shows just how strong the human hunger is for a place to call home and a meaningful mission in life. As the story of these nuns unfolds, it urges us to examine whether we truly keep the promises we make to our elders and whether we honor the paths they freely choose.
Morning by morning, the three nun residents keep their ritual prayers and gentle routines, sheltered by a growing circle of supporters—everyone believes, as they do, that this quiet chapel is the only home they should ever leave.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/15/europe/austrian-nuns-care-home-monastery-intl-scli
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