Defiant nuns flee care home for their abandoned convent in the Alps

[IwantToRetire]

Three Austrian nuns in their 80s have run away from the retirement home where they were placed and gone back to their former convent.

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

They regained access with the help of former students and a locksmith.

Church authorities are not happy - but the nuns are.

"I am so pleased to be home," Sister Rita said. "I was always homesick at the care home. I am so happy and thankful to be back."

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

continues at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y8r2gk0vyo

The Nun's Liberation Movement !!

cant wait for the Netflix documentary 😂

Nuns on the run!

Good for them.

Best news story for ages!!!!

It would be a brave or foolhardy man who tried to argue with them I think!

They are eating Zwetschgenknoedel (plum dumplings), I'm so envious.

I half expect they will find a queue at their door each day from other women saying please can I join you!

And really glad they have got a local support network.

The patriachs in the church hierarchy will be making some devious plan to get them out.

Shouldn't this be a sequel to the Sound of Music? 🤔

The church had changed the locks so some locals broke in for them, changed the locks and reconnected the electricity for them, so the locals are really pleased to have them back - lovely story

Fabulous !

Can they take care of themselves?

I love these nuns. I hope I am as courageous and tenacious when I’m that age.

Ex-pupil Sophie Tauscher told the BBC: “Goldenstein without the nuns is just not possible. When they need us, they just have to call us and we will be there, for sure.”

They've got an instagram account now!

https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/nuns-escape-nursing-home-to-return-to-convent

I was grinning as read this earlier - YES sisters! 👏💪

The trio were taken from the convent two years ago on the grounds they could not live independently and relocated to a retirement home in the nearby town, Oberalm.

But the nuns claimed they were taken against their will and insist they are capable of caring for themselves.

“It’s not a break-in,” Sister Bernadette said.

“The basis for this is our contract of transfer, which states that we can stay here until the end of our lives.

And we are now exercising that right again, that we can indeed stay here until the end of our lives.

“This is not a crime or anything like that.”

The nuns are financially dependent on outside help because their bank accounts have been frozen.

But former students and volunteers have been supporting the nuns with food and other assistance.

https://news.stv.tv/world/three-elderly-nuns-flee-austrian-retirement-home-to-return-to-abandoned-convent

Who froze their bank accounts?!!!!

If they are their bank accounts how can anyone freeze them.

Long live the Nun revolution!

Independence for Sisters!

Lovely to see them on TV earlier, adorable living their best lives

I wouldn’t mind joining them actually to live a peaceful life away from the madness prevailing in the world right now

We're gonna need a bigger convent.

Yes it would be nice, but not for the rest of my life though! The nuns are great, but this place was their HOME. The antics of (male presumably) church elders in controlling the lives of these wonderful nuns is outrageous, but not surprising. I suppose they want to turn the convent into high end spa in the mountains or something.

Wouldn't it be great if someone did buy it, and marketed it as a wellness retreat for women only, with storytime and advice every day at 8 from the three amigos.

Great story. I'd love to go see them.

Oh yes please

Happy to potter around the veg patch and snip the roses if I can look up at the mountain scenery. Plum dumplings as mentioned upthread would be a bonus.

Although not sure about the chastity aspect, perhaps a window of a few hours a week when we can have a lover to visit?!?

Although not sure about the chastity aspect, perhaps a window of a few hours a week when we can have a lover to visit?!?

Probably have to go to the nursing home for that. 😊

I love this. Though how have they "run away"? It's not like they were prisoners, surely they could leave if their own free will. Also, "run" might be stretching it a bit!

I'm in if they are prepared to house a non religious beetle!

This reminds me of the book "The 100 year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared" by Jonas Jonasson.

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he’s still in good health. A big celebration is in the works for his 100th birthday, but Allan really isn’t interested (and he’d like a bit more control over his alcohol consumption), so he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey. It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: he has not only witnessed some of the most important events of the 20th century, but actually played a key role in them. Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world.

Oh bless them.

Can someone give Charlotte Church a call?