The Singing Nun was Jeanine Deckers (born Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers; October 17, 1933 – March 29, 1985), a member (as Sister Luc Gabriel) of the Dominican Fichermont Convent in Belgium. Image File history File links Soeur_sourire. ... October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (89th in Leap years). ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Popular in the convent for her music, she was encouraged by the other nuns to record an album in 1963. One song from that album, Dominique, soared to the top of the charts in the United States. Overnight, the Dominican nun was an international celebrity with the stage name of Soeur Sourire (Sister Smile). She gave concerts and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Please also see Jean Dominique for the journalist. ... The Ed Sullivan Show was an American television variety show that ran from June 20, 1948, to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by Ed Sullivan. ...

In 1966, a movie called The Singing Nun was made about her, starring Debbie Reynolds in the title role — Deckers rejected the film as "fictional". Debbie Reynolds (born April 1, 1932) is an American actress, dancer and singer. ...

As the 1960s progressed, Deckers stopped performing in favor of a more rigorous devotional life. In 1967, she left to pursue her musical career, though most of her earnings went to the convent. Despite her renewed musical emphasis, Deckers gradually faded into obscurity, possibly because of her own disdain for fame: her second album, released in 1967, was titled I Am Not a Star.

Although she was deeply religious, she was also increasingly critical of the Roman Catholic Church's conservatism and eventually became an advocate of birth control. She also agreed with John Lennon's statements about Jesus in 1966. In 1967, she recorded a song entitled Glory Be to God for the Golden Pill — a paean to contraception — under the name Luc Dominique. It was as big a flop as Dominique had been a success. The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see Terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins and sees itself as the true Church founded by Jesus of Nazareth and maintained through Apostolic Succession from the Twelve... This article deals with conservatism as a political philosophy. ... Birth control is a regimen of one or more actions, devices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of a woman becoming pregnant or giving birth. ... John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), (born John Winston Lennon, known as John Ono Lennon) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founding member of The Beatles. ... Paean, in Homer, was the Greek physician of the gods. ...

Her musical career over, Deckers opened a school for autistic children in Belgium with her companion of ten years, Annie Pécher. In the early 1980s, the Belgian government claimed that she owed back taxes; she countered that the money was given to the convent and therefore exempt from taxes. Lacking any receipt to prove her donations to the convent and her religious order, Deckers ran into the heaviest of financial problems. One last attempt to resume her singing career failed in 1982. She and Pécher both died by an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol, and were buried together. Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests in delays of social interaction, language as used in social communication, or symbolic or imaginative play, with onset prior to age 3 years, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. ... Barbiturates are drugs that act as central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and by virtue of this they produce a wide spectrum of effects, from mild sedation to anesthesia. ...

In 1996, "The Tragic & Horrible Life of the Singing Nun" premiered Off-Broadway at The Grove Street Playhouse. The play, which was written & directed by Blair Fell, was loosely based on the events in Jeanine Deckers life. The production, which featured several musical numbers, followed the renamed character Jeanine Fou's life from her entry into the convent until her death with Annie. The play's critical success [1] led the Catholic League to speak out publicly against the production. [2] In 2006, a revival of "The Tragic & Horrible Life of the Singing Nun" was staged during the New York Musical Theater Festival. The new production featured additional original music by Andy Monroe. Directed by Michael Schiralli, the musical's cast included New York actors Laura Daniel, Tracey Gilbert, Kristine Zbornik, Randy Blair, Michael Hunsaker, Stephen Michael Rondel, Eileen Stevens, and Kristen Beil.

External links and references

• Florence Delaport: Soeur Sourire: Brûlée aux feux de la rampe (1996)
• D. A. Chadwick, Florence Delaport: Music From the Soul: The Singing Nun Story (PublishAmerica ISBN 1-4137-5076-1, August 2004)
• The curse of the Christmas single (The Guardian, Fri 10 Dec 2004)
• The Straight Dope: Did the "singing nun" commit suicide with her lesbian lover?
• The Singing Nun [Swinginchicks.com]
• The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun