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Sœur Emmanuelle (1908 – 2008), born Madeleine Cinquin, was a famous Belgian and French nun (she was later honoured with the Egyptian Nationality in 1991).

She was born in Brussels, Belgium, the daughter of a family of lingerie manufacturers. At the age of six she saw her father drown. She was educated at the Sorbonne, earning a degree in philosophy. In 1929, she took her religious vows and became a nun in the Congregation of Notre-Dame de Sion.

With the 1930s, she started working as a teacher at Notre-Dame de Sion high school in Istanbul where she lived until the 1960s, with teaching engagements of several years in Tunis and Alexandria in between.

In 1971, she witnessed the impoverished conditions of the trash collectors in Cairo, Egypt, and decided to live among them. She remained there until 1993, when she returned to France. It was upon her return that she gained the status of a media sensation in France, as she was well received by audiences and talk-show hosts.

In addition to her charity work, she was known for her unorthodox religious views, including her approval of the use of contraception and of the idea of allowing priests to marry. She was voted one of the most popular people in France, and has been compared to Mother Teresa, although she herself regarded the comparison as "ridiculous". In 2003, French television broadcast Soeur Emmanuelle: An Exceptional Woman. In 2005 she ended in fifth place in the Walloon version of Le plus grand Belge (The Greatest Belgian).

She died on October 20, 2008 in Callian in her sleep from natural causes at the age of 99.

Les Amis de Soeur Emmanuelle (The Friends of Sister Emmanuelle) is a charitable organization based in Brussels.

tags soeur emmanuelle madeleine cinquin egypt cairo religion christianism nun portrait ben heine le plus grand belge unorthodox brussels belgium sepia ecoline smile faith foi god dieu jesus poverty nonne charity mother teresa wal notre dame de sion