The Story of Three Defiant Nuns in Austria

0:00Today on State of the World, the story of three defiant nuns in Austria. You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories, up close, where they're happening. I'm Greg Dixon. Okay, here's the story. Three Austrian nuns in their 80s, the last in their convent, were kicked out, they say, against their will. So, with some local help, they broke back into the convent, disobeying their church superiors, and have again taken up residence. These three octogenarian nuns are taking Instagram by storm, where there is a growing community of supporters.

0:42And if disobedient Austrian nuns, from Salzburg no less, are reminding you of a beloved musical, a real-life von Trapp does figure into this story. Reporter Esme Nicholson introduces us to the sisters. Morning Mass is underway at the chapel of Schloss Goldenstein a convent nestled between the church spires of Salzburg and the arresting backdrop of the Alps 82-year-old sister Rita is delighted to see so many people in attendance As Catholic congregation numbers dwindle in Austria Rita says you'd expect the church to be equally thrilled by such a full chapel But Rita and fellow sisters Regina and Bernadette are in the local provost's bad books.

1:28She says people are calling us rebellious sisters. The three Augustinian nuns are effectively squatting in the convent that used to be their home. Rita says they were taken to a nursing home against their will two years ago when church authorities shuttered the cloisters. But the sisters have no intention of hanging up their habits. They entered the convent on the understanding that they would serve there and at the adjoining school for the rest of their lives. So in September, a group of parishioners rented a U-Haul and, with the help of a local locksmith to get inside, moved the sisters back into the convent and switched the water and electricity back on.

2:04Sister Rita says they simply had to act. I wanted to speak to the provost to tell him how unhappy we were, but we couldn't reach him. When the opportunity arose to return to our beloved convent, We didn't wait for his permission. When they broke back in, Rita, Bernadette and Regina say their rooms looked as if they'd been ransacked and that their personal belongings, including letters and photographs, were all gone. But their superior, Provost Markus Kreisel, is not pleased with the sister's dissent. And when their getaway made headlines, he brought in a PR firm specialising in damage control.

2:40So Harald Schiffle now speaks on the clergyman's behalf.

2:47It goes without saying that the sisters were consulted before being moved into the nursing home. And it's understandable that after decades of living and working in one place, such a move is not easy. Schüffle adds that the provost was acting out of concern for the sisters and that the nearly empty convent was not suitable for their care needs in old age. But the sisters insist that they did not agree to leave. In the chapel, the pews creak as a latecomer joins the throng of worshippers eager to see the defiant nuns who've gone viral with their own Instagram account. Christina Wittenberger, one of the sisters' former students who helped plot their return, says they went public on purpose.

3:30We invited the press along to prevent the provost from curfing the sisters out of the convent. I was told that he would not be so bold on camera. 65-year-old Wittenberger has known the sisters since she was 10. She says that while headstrong and as sharp as ever, they're also vulnerable. When other volunteers suggested launching an Instagram account, she said only on the condition the sisters gave their express permission. 88-year-old sister Bernadette, who has been a nun here since 1955, takes social media stardom in her stride.

4:06I think it's wonderful that Instagram brings people to us to praise God. Sure, they're curious to see us after all the press coverage, but what they see is our worship. But Bernadette is still reeling about what happened as she climbs four flights of stairs. She says the chairlift was removed from the cloister not long after her own removal. I'd been in hospital for two weeks, and when I was discharged, I thought I was returning home to the convent. But the ambulance took me to a nursing home in my nightgown. I was shocked. And that's when Sister Bernadette decided to rebel. A posse of parishioners helped the sisters leave, among them a local locksmith who broke into the shuttered convent, where they had been the last three surviving nuns of an order that in its heyday was 30 sisters strong.

4:57The nun superior and provost of the local abbey, Markus Kreisel, has accused the sisters of breaking their vows. But Wolfgang Rote, a priest and scholar of canon law, says this charge is often pitted at critics within the church.

5:15It's rather telling that the church reaches for the cudgel of obedience to quash dissent. But the sisters' vow of obedience refers to their obligation to listen to each other. It's not about kowtowing to the powers above.

5:31Behind closed cloister doors after mass, Sister Bernadette brews an espresso and reflects on how happy she is to be back home with the other sisters.

5:43There is such harmony between the three of us. Of course, we all have our own personality. It wouldn't be fair on God if we were all the same. That is the beauty of our order. Every sister can be herself. Though it can, of course, be hard to be yourself when you're a nun, if Hollywood is to be believed.

6:09Back in the centre of Tauna, Mary, group of Prosecco-sipping women, have launched into some alfresco karaoke in praise of another rebellious Salzburg nun. Yes, that one, Maria von Trapp, as immortalised by Julie Andrews 60 years ago in the film The Sound of Music. How do you make her stay? And listen to all you say. By complete chance, they bump into Maria's real-life granddaughter, Elizabeth von Trapp, who, wait for it, has known Sister Bernadette for years. Not unlikely, she says, considering her family's track record with nuns.

6:54Von Trapp, who was born in the US, where her family settled after fleeing the Nazis, returns to Salzburg regularly. One summer, about a decade ago, she chanced upon the convent at Schloss Goldenstein. She says she didn't think twice about ringing the bell. Sister Bernadette answered and opened the door to me. Well, when I mentioned that my name was Elizabeth von Trapp, she put two and two together very quickly.

7:19Von Trapp, who has continued the family singing tradition, ended up giving a concert in the convent chapel. The sisters rallied around and I remember them sitting up in the choir loft. I ended up with Climb Every Mountain, which I figured was, you know, it's the nun song and the sound of music. And there they were, leaning down, so happy to hear that song. And while this sounds as far-fetched as a Hollywood producer's pitch, Nuns on the Run meets The Sound of Music, von Trapp says this is no sister act, but something far more profound, pointing to the Augustinian emphasis on community. I believe Sister Bernadette has a message.

7:56It has a lot to do with how she has taken care of the community and who is now surrounding her. One of them is Karin Seidel, another former convent student. She says the sisters have devoted their lives to the community, and now it's time to give back. This is their home, and although we've organized 24-hour care starting next week, I live just three minutes away, so I'm also on hand. Surely the church is about practicing Love Thy Neighbor, not just about preaching it. She says the sisters are as devout as they are defiant, and that they deserve agency and dignity in old age. For NPR News, I'm Esmina Kosson in Salzburg.

8:42That's the State of the World from NPR. Thanks for listening.