Soeur Sourire

Belgian singer/songwriter/guitarist Soeur Sourire, known in the English-speaking world as the Singing Nun, was born Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers in Brussels on October 17, 1933, where she was also raised. She attended the University of Louvain and became an art teacher before joining the Dominican order in 1954, under whose service she would eventually trade her name, Jeannine Deckers, for Sister Luc-Gabrielle, a name derived from her parents' names, Lucien and Gabrielle. While in the convent, Sister Luc-Gabrielle penned a number of tunes, and with the support of her fellow nuns...