Singer. Known as the "The Singing Nun", in French she was known as "Soeur Sourire" or "Sister Smile." She entered the Fichermont Dominican Convent in Waterloo, Belgium in 1959 and took the name "Soeur Luc Gabrielle." She had her great international hit "Dominique" in 1963, which she wrote in honor of the founder of her order, St. Dominique. In 1967 she changed her religious name to "Soeur Luc Dominique." She was unhappy with the changes brought about in the Catholic Church by the Second Vatican Council and left the religious life in 1967 before taking her final vows. Her intent was to pursue a full-time recording career. She was not successful in this enterprise, and founded a school for autistic children with friend Annie Pecher. The school had financial problems and closed in 1982. She was hounded by the Belgian government for $63,000 in back taxes for money earned by the song "Dominique." As a recording artist in a convent, she had taken the vow of poverty and had contributed all the profits to her religious order. In a state of severe depression, she and her friend Annie Pecher downed a fatal dose of alcohol and barbiturates on March 29, 1985, in Wavre, Belgium. They are buried together. Their grave inscription is a line from "Dominique." Translated to English, it is "I saw her soul flying through clouds."
Singer. Known as the "The Singing Nun", in French she was known as "Soeur Sourire" or "Sister Smile." She entered the Fichermont Dominican Convent in Waterloo, Belgium in 1959 and took the name "Soeur Luc Gabrielle." She had her great international hit "Dominique" in 1963, which she wrote in honor of the founder of her order, St. Dominique. In 1967 she changed her religious name to "Soeur Luc Dominique." She was unhappy with the changes brought about in the Catholic Church by the Second Vatican Council and left the religious life in 1967 before taking her final vows. Her intent was to pursue a full-time recording career. She was not successful in this enterprise, and founded a school for autistic children with friend Annie Pecher. The school had financial problems and closed in 1982. She was hounded by the Belgian government for $63,000 in back taxes for money earned by the song "Dominique." As a recording artist in a convent, she had taken the vow of poverty and had contributed all the profits to her religious order. In a state of severe depression, she and her friend Annie Pecher downed a fatal dose of alcohol and barbiturates on March 29, 1985, in Wavre, Belgium. They are buried together. Their grave inscription is a line from "Dominique." Translated to English, it is "I saw her soul flying through clouds."
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J'ai vu voler son ame a travers les nuages
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