Austrian Nuns Defy Church Authority Over Social Media Controversy

Sun Dec 07 2025 03:10:34 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Three elderly nuns from Austria, who gained popularity through social media, are allowed to stay in their convent under the condition they cease online activities. This decision follows their escape from a care home back to their beloved convent.

In Austria, three elderly nuns, Sister Bernadette, Sister Regina, and Sister Rita, have been granted permission to remain at Kloster Goldenstein convent, having fled a care home against their will. Their presence has been bolstered by social media, attracting a significant following. However, Church authorities require them to stop posting online, emphasizing their desire to maintain traditional convent life. The nuns, long-standing residents of the convent, face a pivotal decision that could define their remaining years.

Three Austrian nuns in their 80s who ran away from the old people's home where they were placed have been told they can stay in their former convent until further notice.

However, Church authorities say they can only stay if they stop posting on social media.

Sister Bernadette, 88, Sister Regina, who is 86 and 82-year-old Sister Rita are the last three nuns at the Kloster Goldenstein convent in Elsbethen, just outside Salzburg.

The three nuns say they were taken out of the convent against their will in December 2023.

In September, they moved back in with the help of former students and a locksmith, angering Church officials.

The nuns' superior, Provost Markus Grasl from Reichersberg Abbey, called on them to return to the care home, saying their decision to return to the convent was completely incomprehensible.

The nuns' story sparked worldwide interest. Supporters helped them with food, electricity and social media, posting videos of the nuns' daily lives.

These included Sister Rita's exercise workouts. She was recently given a pair of boxing gloves. The Goldenstein nuns have amassed almost 100,000 followers on Instagram and several thousand on Facebook.

After almost three months of standoff, a spokesman for the Provost, Harald Schiffl, has told Austrian Press Agency APA that the nuns can stay for now, following a recent meeting where a proposed solution was suggested.

The nuns could stay at the Kloster Goldenstein, but only under certain conditions. These include giving up their social media activities, and ensuring that the enclosed part of the convent will no longer be accessible to outsiders.

In return, they will be allowed to stay and be provided with medical care and spiritual support from a priest.

As of now, the nuns have yet to agree to the conditions, putting their future at Kloster Goldenstein in limbo.

The three nuns have spent much of their lives at Schloss Goldenstein, a castle which has been a convent and a private girls' school since 1877. Sister Bernadette attended the school herself and started her journey at the convent in 1948, while Sister Regina and Rita followed in 1958 and 1962 respectively.

As the nuns navigate the complexities of their situation, their determination to remain in the convent reflects a broader struggle for autonomy and dignity in their later years.