Nuns on the run: 3 'homesick' nuns escape retirement home to return to their former convent

CapeTalk's Clarence Ford speaks to Barbara Friedman about trending online stories.

Listen below:

Three elderly nuns, Sister Bernadette (88), Sister Regina (86), and Sister Rita (82), have captured hearts across Austria after orchestrating a bold return to their longtime convent in Elsbethen, near Salzburg, with the help of villagers and former students.

The move followed a 2022 administrative change, when the Archdiocese of Salzburg and Reichersberg Abbey took over the property, appointing Provost Markus Grasl as their new superior.

The nuns said they were given the right to live at the convent until they died.

Deeply homesick and forced to let go of the place they called home for decades, the trio decided to act. With the assistance of loyal supporters, and reportedly, a locksmith, they managed to regain access to the convent and move back in.

The return has been met with joy by many locals and former students, who praised the sisters' determination and spirit. Electricity and water have been partially restored, and community members are delivering food and groceries.

Doctors have also visited to check on their well-being. Visitors now arrive daily to see the nuns, many of them familiar faces from the past.

Provost Markus Grasl called the sisters’ return 'completely incomprehensible'.

Despite the criticism, the sisters appear content and are settling back into their old routines, surrounded by the people and memories that shaped their lives.

"Good for them,"says Friedman.

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