BERLIN — When three octogenarian nuns escaped their senior center in September, their unlikely quest for freedom set off a bitter standoff with the abbot who leads their Roman Catholic order.

The three rebel nuns forced their way back into the Austrian abbey where they had lived for decades, before the senior center. That put them at odds with the abbot, who had wanted to keep them out, while capturing the global imagination with their lively social media feed and even prompting the involvement of Catholic leaders in Rome.

Now, after a monthslong standoff in which the nuns refused to return to the care home, the situation seems to have a winner.

Abbot Markus Grasl appeared to admit defeat Friday, announcing in a statement that, after talks with Rome and the local archdiocese, he would f

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