The Benedictine Sisters of Erie are refuting a viral social media post that falsely claimed no one resides at their monastery, where they have lived for decades.
The post, made Tuesday by an X account allegedly affiliated with a Pennsylvania canvassing operation, asserted that a canvasser found 53 registered voters at the monastery address who “don’t live there.”
Sister Stephanie Schmidt, prioress of the Benedictine Sisters, expressed shock at the claim. “Where is this coming from? What planet are you living on?” she said. “When you make your vows here, you’re committed to the monastery in Erie for the rest of your life.”
Many of the sisters, like Sister Theresa Zoky and Sister Diane Rabe, have lived in the community for over 50 years.
The post, viewed more than 2.7 million times and shared by Elon Musk’s America PAC, included names of the nuns, implying they were not real voters.
“We’re used to being accused of being too active… but I’ve never heard us accused of fraud or not existing,” said Sister Annette Marshall.
The sisters have denied the incident ever occurred, stating that no interaction happened with a canvasser.
The account that shared the claim has not responded to requests for comment.
Following the nuns’ public response, the original poster added that they are “continuing to analyze the situation” and will be “content” once they find proof.
The Benedictine Sisters say they plan to vote in the upcoming election.