The Singing Nun

Jeanne-Paule Marie "Jeannine" Deckers (17 October 1933 – 29 March 1985), better known as Sœur Sourire (French for 'Sister Smile') and often called The Singing Nun in English-speaking countries, was a Belgian Catholic singer-songwriter and former member of the Dominican Order as Sister Luc Gabriel.Owing partially to confusion over the terms of the recording contract, she was eventually reduced to poverty and also experienced a crisis of faith, leaving the order, though still remaining a Catholic."[11] In 1963 the General Music Company published a book of 15 Soeur Sourire songs with English lyrics provided by Noël Regney, who later claimed that he had co-written "Dominique.[6] In 1966, a biographical film loosely based on Sister Luc Gabriel was released called The Singing Nun and starring Debbie Reynolds in the central role.After she left, however, she continued to adhere as closely as she could to the disciplines of the convent, still considering herself a nun, praying several times daily, and maintaining a simple and chaste lifestyle.[7] Angered by what she saw as the Catholic Church's failure to implement the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, she released a song in 1967 in support of contraception, "Glory be to God for the Golden Pill".When a second single, "Sister Smile Is Dead", also failed, Deckers turned to teaching disabled youngsters in Wavre, Brabant, eventually opening her own school for autistic children.Cardinal Leo Suenens requested that she write songs for the movement, and this led to a brief but successful return to the stage, including a visit to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she sang before several thousand people.The sisters gave her what they considered to be her share (which enabled her to acquire an apartment in Wavre) on condition that she stop denigrating the congregation and sign a document stating that all accounts were balanced, but Philips, which had received 95% of the revenue, did nothing.[26] The inscription on their tombstone reads, "J'ai vu voler son âme / À travers les nuages" (English: "I saw her soul fly through the clouds"), a line taken from her 1966 song "Luc Dominique".The New York Times review stated the play "milks much of its comic mileage from the incongruous, and willfully tasteless, pairing of its holy setting and its trashy, Jacqueline Susann-style dialogue ...Based loosely on Deckers' life to that point in time, it stars Debbie Reynolds in the title role and also features Greer Garson, Ricardo Montalbán, Agnes Moorehead, Katharine Ross, Chad Everett, and Ed Sullivan as himself.[33] In 2009, Sœur Sourire, a Franco-Belgian biopic, directed by Stijn Coninx and starring Belgian actress Cécile de France as Deckers, was released.