San Francisco Frontiers - 'Finally back home': Rebel octogenarian nuns reclaim Austrian convent

Sisters Rita, 81, Regina, 86, and Bernadette, 88, have graced international headlines following their flight earlier this month from the care home the Catholic Church sent them to in late 2023 "against their will".

Before then, the three were the last remaining nuns at Goldenstein castle in Elsbethen, south of the city of Salzburg, which has housed both the towering nunnery and a private school for almost 150 years.

Several of the nuns' former students gathered at the majestic convent on Saturday to offer rosary prayers one bead at a time. Other allies of the rogue sisterhood joined later, bearing food or just stopping by for a chat.

The prayers' calm offered a rare moment of respite amid the media whirlwind engulfing them in the aftermath of their unorthodox flight -- and ongoing battles with the Church hierarchy over their right to remain in the nunnery.

Former student Eva-Maria Seeber, 76, told AFP that she had come to support the trio and take a stand.

"You can't just relocate elderly people without asking them. It's cruel," she said, adding that two nuns were taken "straight from the hospital" to the nearby care home.

- 'They've blossomed' -

Relations with Church officials, who insist the nuns had to be placed in a Catholic care home due to their ailing health, have spiralled in recent weeks.

The trio's superior, Provost Markus Grasl of the Reichersberg Abbey, has even accused them of violating their duties of obedience.

With their flight, the sisters are "acting against the vows they voluntarily took", argued Grasl, whose abbey took charge of Goldenstein in 2022 together with the Archdiocese of Salzburg.

While it remains unclear what the Catholic Church was planning to do with the convent, the nuns tell a different story.

They say the Church cited "severe dementia" to have them transferred to a retirement home -- without even consulting them.

But with the help of former students and other supporters -- a group which now numbers up to 150 people -- the nuns were able to reclaim their abandoned convent.

More than two weeks ago, "our prayers were heard and we were picked up and brought to Goldenstein", Sister Bernadette told AFP.

"The locksmith was there to open the door, and we were able to return to our cells," said the eldest nun, who first arrived at Goldenstein in 1948.

What the nuns found, however, left them "in great shock", as rooms had been cleared out, the stair lift dismantled and there was neither running water nor electricity.

Mercifully for them, some of those issues were easily fixed.

"We are finally back home in the convent -- it feels heavenly," said Sister Bernadette.

The community, too, has seen the nuns' faces light up since their return to the place where they had served for decades.

"They've blossomed from the very first day they were back," said Martina Krispler, who had brought lunch for the nuns and their helpers.

"The sisters were always warm, loving and caring during our school days," the 28-year-old former student said.

"We simply do not agree with the way the Church is treating them."

- 'Until end of our lives' -

Looking ahead, the nuns hope to reconcile with the Church, and be allowed to stay in the convent "until the end of our lives" -- as the Church said they could.

"They should keep their promises," said Bernadette, the eldest sister, while leaning on her rolling walker.

"That's the only disappointment, that they broke their promise."

A fundraiser has meanwhile been launched on GoFundMe, with donations now topping 6,500 euros ($7,300).

Their supporters have also upped their game on social media, where clips of the nuns' daily lives attracted more than 44,700 followers on Instagram by Saturday.

In one post soundtracked by the theme tune to Sylvester Stallone's boxing epic "Rocky", 81-year-old Sister Rita jogs along while donning her trademark habit, a big smile across her face.

K.Torres--SFF