Nuns who broke back into their Austrian convent ‘are step closer to being able to stay’ | Austria

Sources close to them say that three nuns who escaped from the nursing home and returned to their monastery in the castle near Salzburg, where they spent most of their lives, are one step closer to being able to stay there.

Sisters Bernadette, Regina and Rita, who are in their early to late eighties, broke into their convent home in Elsbethen last September with the help of former students of the Catholic school where they taught and other supporters. Their case became one that attracted attention from around the world.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), the body responsible for ecclesiastical discipline in the Catholic church, has not yet officially decided the fate of women, and it may take months to do so. But plans to bring them to Rome are thought to be a positive sign in the nuns’ favor and bring the dispute over their future closer to resolution.

An aide close to the nuns told Austrian media that the Vatican was “in principle” in favor of giving the sisters the right to stay in the convent. However, the official decision is still pending.

The sisters are facing a campaign by their superiors, who accuse them of breaking the “oath of obedience” they took when they became priests by leaving the nursing home where they were placed in 2023. Prefect Markus Grasl of the nearby Reichersberg Monastery had said the monastery was no longer suitable for nuns because of the many stone stairs and other conditions “too risky” for their advancing age.

The trio say they were sent to a care home against their will and that they wanted to die in their monastery at the magnificent Schloss Goldenstein, citing church law. stabilitas loci: The vow of permanence that a person entering a holy order is expected to make in return for the church’s devotion to him.

Local helpers provided them with 24-hour maintenance and security, including reinstalling locks that had been changed in their absence and reinstalling the stairlift that had been removed.

Nuns belonging to the Augustinian order appealed to Pope Leo XIV, one of the Augustinians, to intervene on their behalf.

It is unclear to what extent he was involved in their case. But people inside the church say they have been briefed on their plight.

Thanks to the donation, which is said to have been made by a private person or a group of people who wish to remain anonymous, the nuns are expected to go to Rome in the next two months, accompanied by medical personnel, and meet with the priest.

A spokesperson for them told Austrian broadcaster ORF: “The three nuns are delighted to be able to travel to Rome. They have never been there before and this trip will be something quite special for them.”

Andreas Englisch, a prominent German Vatican observer, said on his weekly podcast Vatikangeflüster (Vatican Whisperer) that he had been contacted directly by a “generous” donor or donors based in Rome but did not know or would not disclose their identities.

He said he believed the nuns could expect a private meeting with Pope Leo. “I’m sure you’ll want to have them,” he said.

The nuns have built a sizeable following on Instagram and Facebook by posting clips of their daily lives, including proof that they are eligible to stay in their convent. The posts helped put their status in the spotlight. But late last year they reached an agreement with the Vatican to reduce their social media posts, agreeing this would help their chances of staying at the monastery.

The request came in response to a letter the nuns wrote to the Vatican, complaining about their treatment by the Reichersberg foundation, which owns part of the convent building in the archdiocese of Grasl and Salzburg.

They told Austrian media through their aides that they had received a response informing them that the Dicastery was “working to find a just, humane and sustainable solution” to end the dispute. In return, they were asked to “seek inner peace and reflect in the spirit of seclusion.”

The nuns thanked the public for their sympathy and support at the time, emphasizing that without media attention they would have “been helplessly exposed to the cruelty and arbitrariness of our superior.”

The Guardian has contacted a spokesperson for the nuns for comment.