LETTER FROM VIENNA
Sisters Regina (age 86), Rita (age 81) and Bernadette (age 88) sit on a bench at their former Goldenstein convent, located in the castle of the same name near Salzburg, Austria, September 12, 2025. ANGELIKA WARMUTH / REUTERS
Wearing their prayer habits, with traditional veils wrapped around their faces, the nuns of Goldenstein appeared to fit in perfectly on December 3 at the Vienna performance hall where they had been invited for the launch of a book about their story. “But all we did was leave our nursing home without permission,” confided Sister Bernadette, 88, sparking laughter from her companion, Sister Rita, 82. The two then began a joint account, full of anecdotes, describing how they have occupied their former monastery – a massive castle in Elsbethen, near Salzburg – without permission since early September, after fleeing their nursing home.
Along with Sister Regina, 86, who was visibly more tired and preferred to quietly remain in the audience, the three octogenarians have become famous throughout Austria. That evening, the Viennese audience paid €34 to hear them criticize the way they felt they had been mistreated by the Catholic Church. “Our contract said we could stay in our monastery for the rest of our lives,” explained Sister Bernadette, accusing their superior, Provost Markus Grasl, of sending them to a nursing home against their will in December 2023 – a year after he was appointed head of their dwindling Augustinian congregation. The three sisters were the last remaining residents of the old Goldenstein building.
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