How do I retrieve my word documents.? The latest update won't let me retrieve them.

You need your MS Office to be 64 bit to work with Catalina. Office 365 and Office 2019 are 64 bit and will open all your previously created documents. Did you happen to move your old documents when you upgraded the operating system? Maybe you enabled iCloud which would move your documents to the iDrive.

What happens when you try? How are trying? What did you update, MS Office or the MacOS or something else?