Nuns on run in Côte d'Azur

TWO ELDERLY nuns are hiding from their religious order after rebelling against a planned move to distant retirement homes.

The 86- and 82-year-olds ran away from a house in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes, which belongs to the Sisters of Saint-Joseph, who plan to sell it. They are the last of a community that used to help run the nearby Catholic school.

According to a spokeswoman for the order, it was not safe for the women to live alone in the house. They had agreed on placements in the Ardèche and Aveyron, but local friends turned them against the order and are sheltering them.

“They are under the influence of misguided people who claim to be protecting them. We are waiting to contact them and these people. We are worried they have been led astray,” she said.

A third nun, 89, did not join in the flight because she was hospitalised with a broken leg several days before.