diff --git a/templates/gitea/statefulset.yaml b/templates/gitea/statefulset.yaml
index bb13eea..b00fd93 100644
--- a/templates/gitea/statefulset.yaml
+++ b/templates/gitea/statefulset.yaml
@@ -244,7 +244,9 @@ spec:
   {{- if and .Values.persistence.enabled .Values.persistence.existingClaim }}
         - name: data
           persistentVolumeClaim:
-            claimName: {{ .Values.persistence.existingClaim }}
+  {{- with .Values.persistence.existingClaim }}
+            claimName: {{ tpl . $ }}
+  {{- end }}
   {{- else if not .Values.persistence.enabled }}
         - name: data
           emptyDir: {}