The Austrian nuns who fled their care home are now in Rome and visited the Vatican

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. World The Austrian nuns who fled their care home are now in Rome and visited the Vatican April 29, 2026 5:48 PM ET By Esme Nicholson Sisters Rita (right), 81, Regina (left), 86, and Bernadette (center), 88, at the convent chapel of the Goldenstein castle south of Salzburg, Austria, on Sept. Supporters of the three nuns flocked to the convent in a show of solidarity. Joe Klamar/ via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Joe Klamar/ via Getty Images BERLIN – Three octogenarian Austrian nuns who captured headlines last year when they staged an escape from their care home and broke back into their old convent are in Rome for the very first time.

Sisters Rita, Bernadette and Regina joined tens of thousands of other visitors at St. Peter's Square for a general audience with Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday morning. Europe Meet the Austrian nuns who fled a care home to break into their old convent The sisters' aide Christina Wirtenberger — who has known them since she was a pupil in the convent's adjoining school — told NPR that they boarded a plane for Rome "in secret" amid an ongoing dispute with the local provost, Markus Grasl.

The Details

In a statement sent to NPR by the provost's spokesperson Harald Schiffl, Grasl expressed concern about what appeared to be the sisters' sudden disappearance on Tuesday night and bafflement over why they kept their flight to Rome under wraps. The sisters have been at odds with the provost — who is also their superior — since returning to their convent last September in Schloss Goldenstein near Salzburg. Sponsor Message Grasl accused the sisters of breaking their vow of obedience when they left the care home, arguing that the conditions in the convent are unsuitable for them.

The sisters accuse the provost of putting them in a care home against their will. Both parties appealed to the Vatican late last year to make a decision over the sisters' right to remain. Sisters Bernadette, Rita and Regina also requested that the provost be relieved of his duties to them.

World Austrian nuns await word from the Vatican on whether they can stay in their convent Munich-based canon law scholar Wolfgang Rothe — who has been advising the nuns — told NPR that the Vatican Dicastery responsible for religious orders has decided in the sisters' favor and that they can remain at the convent. The Vatican has not yet responded to NPR's request for comment. Rothe also told NPR that the Vatican appointed Abbot Jakob Auer as an assistant to Provost Grasl to take care of the sisters' needs — an appointment confirmed by Schiffl, Grasl's spokesperson.

In the statement Schiffl sent to NPR on Wednesday, he quotes Auer as saying, "We were on the verge of finalizing an agreement regarding the sisters' continued stay at Schloss Goldenstein" and that since Tuesday, he has been "unable to reach the sisters" and "fear that they are being deliberately kept away from me," adding that "we are deeply concerned about the sisters' well-being.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.