Austrian Octogenarian Nuns Secretly Travel to Rome Amid Ongoing Vatican Dispute

On the night of Tuesday, 29 April 2026, three octogenarian nuns—Sisters Rita, Bernadette and Regina—boarded a plane to Rome in secrecy. The following morning they joined tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square for a general audience with Pope Leo XIV. Their unannounced arrival prompted immediate concern from the convent’s provost, who reported an inability to contact the sisters.

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The sisters first entered the public eye last year when they escaped a care home and later re-entered their former convent, Schloss Goldenstein near Salzburg. Since returning in September 2025, they have been at odds with their provost, Markus Grasl, who alleges they broke their vow of obedience and that the convent’s conditions are unsuitable. The nuns contend they were placed in the care home against their will. Both parties appealed to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Religious Orders for a ruling on the sisters’ right to remain.

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• Sisters Rita, Bernadette, Regina – the three octogenarian nuns at the center of the dispute.

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• Markus Grasl – provost of Schloss Goldenstein and the sisters’ superior.

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• Christina Wirtenberger – longtime aide who accompanied the sisters to Rome.

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• Wolfgang Rothe – Munich-based canon-law scholar advising the nuns.

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• Abbot Jakob Auer – appointed by the Vatican as assistant to Provost Grasl.

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• Vatican Dicastery for Religious Orders – the ecclesiastical body that ruled in the sisters’ favor.

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• September 2025 – Sisters return to Schloss Goldenstein after earlier escape.

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• Late 2025 – Appeals filed with the Vatican by both the sisters and the provost.

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• April 2026 – Dicastery decides in the sisters’ favor; Auer appointed.

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• 29 April 2026 – Secret flight to Rome; provost reports inability to reach sisters.

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• 30 April 2026 – General audience with Pope Leo XIV.

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• April 2026 – Austrian court orders original Instagram account to cease posting in the sisters’ name.

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• Instagram following: nearly 300,000 on the original “nonnen_goldenstein” account.

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• Audience size: tens of thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

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• Convent residents: three sisters involved in the dispute.

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The Dicastery’s ruling permits the sisters to remain at Schloss Goldenstein and installs Abbot Jakob Auer to oversee their needs while the provost’s duties are reviewed. The Vatican has not issued a direct comment on the sisters’ secret departure.

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Provost Grasl argues the sisters violated canonical obedience and that the convent’s environment is unsuitable. The sisters counter that they were forced into the care home and have formally requested the provost’s removal. A court-ordered shutdown of the original Instagram account reflects internal disputes among volunteers supporting the sisters.

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Provost-spokesperson Harald Schiffl claims the sisters are being deliberately kept away from Abbot Auer, while the sisters and their aide assert the trip was voluntary. The Vatican has provided no public clarification on the sisters’ consent to travel.

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• “We were on the verge of finalizing an agreement regarding the sisters' continued stay at Schloss Goldenstein” — Abbot Jakob Auer

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• “unable to reach the sisters” — Abbot Jakob Auer

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• “fear[s] that they are being deliberately kept away from me,” — Abbot Jakob Auer

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The Vatican is expected to review the request to relieve Provost Grasl of his duties. Meanwhile, the sisters’ new Instagram account, “realnonnengoldenstein,” continues to document their perspective, suggesting the dispute will remain in the public eye.

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