Convent Rebellion Goes Viral: Nuns Defy Church’s “Social Media Gag Order”
In an extraordinary modern-day clash between vows and viral fame, three octogenarian Austrian nuns who fled their retirement home to return to their shuttered convent are now locked in a standoff with the Roman Catholic Church over a highly unusual condition: their Instagram accounts. Sisters Bernadette, 88, Regina, 86, and Rita, 82, were told they could remain in the historic Goldstein Castle convent near Salzburg on the strict proviso they abandon their popular social media presence, which has amassed roughly 100,000 followers, and dismiss their legal team. The church’s proposal, which the sisters have refused to sign, frames the demands as necessary for their spiritual and physical welfare, but the nuns and their lawyer see it as a blatant “gag order” designed to silence their public appeal.
The saga, which has captivated followers worldwide, began in 2023 when the convent was closed and the sisters were relocated to a care facility. Defying the order, they made a dramatic return to their beloved convent last September, documenting their daily lives—from gardening to prayer—in a charming and defiant digital diary. Church authorities, represented by Provost Markus Grasl of Reichersberg Abbey, insist the move is motivated by concern for the nuns’ health and accuse them of breaking their vows of obedience, arguing they would be provided care at the convent but moved again if their conditions worsen. However, the sisters argue their peaceful, documented life at the convent is their wellness, and that the church is attempting to control the narrative by cutting off their direct line to public sympathy.
“The provost has broken that promise, and that has to be said,” Sister Bernadette told Salzburger Nachrichten, referring to an alleged assurance they could live out their days at Goldstein Castle. Their lawyer, Reinhard Bruzek, contends the church’s offer is not a compassionate compromise but a coercive maneuver to deprive the public of “knowing their situation.” By rejecting the terms, the sisters are fighting not just for a roof, but for a right rarely enshrined in canon law: the right to tell their own story, turning a quiet spiritual retreat into a very public testament of faith, autonomy, and the power of a posted picture.
