The story of runaway sisters who refused to return to their senior center made headlines across the globe.
Austria: Rebel nuns reject Church’s offer in convent dispute
The story of runaway sisters who refused to return to their senior center made headlines across the globe.
Sisters Rita (R), Bernadette (C) and Regina (L), celebrate a mass at the convent chapel of the Goldenstein castle on September 20, 2025
The three sisters have lived at the vacant convent at Goldenstein Castle
A dispute between three elderly nuns who fled a retirement home to return to their abandoned convent has escalated with Roman Catholic authorities.
On Friday, the sisters rejected an offer from church officials to stay in the nunnery “until further notice,” on the condition that they and their carers stay off social media.
Christina Wirtenberger, a spokeswoman for the rebel sisters, Bernadette, 88; Regina, 86; and Rita, 82, said they decided not to sign the agreement because it would deprive them of the protection of an interested public.ReligionAustria
Austria: Rebel nuns reject Church’s offer in convent dispute
The story of runaway sisters who refused to return to their senior center made headlines across the globe.
Sisters Rita (R), Bernadette (C) and Regina (L), celebrate a mass at the convent chapel of the Goldenstein castle on September 20, 2025
The three sisters have lived at the vacant convent at Goldenstein Castle [FILE: September 20, 2025]Image: Joe Klamar/AFP
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A dispute between three elderly nuns who fled a retirement home to return to their abandoned convent has escalated with Roman Catholic authorities.
On Friday, the sisters rejected an offer from church officials to stay in the nunnery “until further notice,” on the condition that they and their carers stay off social media.
Christina Wirtenberger, a spokeswoman for the rebel sisters, Bernadette, 88; Regina, 86; and Rita, 82, said they decided not to sign the agreement because it would deprive them of the protection of an interested public.
