Sep 16, 20222 min read

The Story of Jeanne-Paule Marie

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 singer-songwriter and a member of the Dominican Order in Belgium as Sister Luc Gabriel.

She acquired widespread fame in 1963 with the release of the Belgian French song "Dominique", which topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and other charts.

Owing to confusion over the terms of the recording contract, she was reduced to poverty, and also experienced a crisis of faith, quitting the order, though still remaining a Catholic. She died by suicide with her lifelong partner, Annie Pécher.

While in the convent, Sister Luc Gabriel wrote, sang, and casually performed her own songs, which were so well received by her fellow nuns and visitors that her religious superiors encouraged her to record an album, which visitors and retreatants at the convent would be able to purchase.

Sister Luc Gabriel found it difficult, however, having to live up to her publicity as "a true girl scout," always happy and in a good mood. "I was never allowed to be depressed," she remembered in 1979. "The mother superior used to censor my songs and take out any verses I wrote when I was feeling sad."

Citing their financial difficulties, she and Annie Pécher died by suicide by taking overdoses of barbiturates and alcohol on 29 March 1985. In their suicide note, they wrote that they had not given up their faith and wished to be buried together with the funeral rite of the Catholic Church.

They were buried together on 4 April 1985 in Cheremont Cemetery in Wavre, Brabant, the town where they died. The inscription on their tombstone reads, "J'ai vu voler son âme/ A travers les nuages" (English: "I saw her soul fly through the clouds"), a line taken from her 1966 song "Luc Dominique".