Cinquin, Emmanuelle 1908-2008 (Madeleine Cinquin, Sister Emmanuelle Cinquin, Sister Emmanuelle, Soeur Emmanuelle)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born November 16, 1908, in Brussels, Belgium; died October 20, 2008, in Callian, France. Roman Catholic nun, humanitarian, and author. When Madeleine Cinquin abandoned the secular life, as she knew it at about the age of twenty, to join the Congregation of Notre-Dame de Sion, it was not without some understanding of the sacrifices involved. In her memoirs, she described herself as a rebel in her youth, curious about life and its pleasures; yet, nearly eighty years after that life-altering decision, Sister Emmanuelle reminded the world that she had no regrets. She remained a rebel, but in a different way. Sister Emmanuelle served as a teacher, mainly in predominantly Muslim countries such as Turkey and Tunisia. Her mission, as she saw it, was to teach, not to convert, and she embraced Christian and Muslim believers alike. Finally, at the age of sixty-two, when others approach retirement, Sister Emmanuelle was granted her wish to establish a new ministry among the poorest of the poor: the garbage pickers of Cairo. She worked in Egypt for more than twenty years, living in a metal hut in suffocating heat, surrounded by disease, violence, ignorance, and crushing poverty. In 1980 she founded the Sister Emmanuelle Association to promote and support her work, which eventually extended to other poverty-stricken parts of the world. Sister Emmanuelle became an outspoken defender of the poor, especially vulnerable children and women, even when it placed her in opposition to the pope himself. She supported the marriage of priests, avoided the issue of homosexuality, and handed out contraceptives to the poor girls of Cairo, even the twelve-year-olds who were often forced into a cycle of annual pregnancies. In 1993 Sister Emmanuelle returned to her mother house in France and continued her mission as a lecturer, fund-raiser, and popular guest on French television programs. She never lost her joy for living, her sense of humor, or her willingness to share her opinions. Sister Emmanuelle also wrote several memoirs, collections of meditations, and other inspirational books. These include Soeur Emmanuelle (1983), Une vie avec les pauvres: paroles de soeur Emmanuelle (1991), Jesus, tel que je le connais (1996), Richesse de la pauvreté (2001), and 365 Méditations de Soeur Emmanuelle (2008).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Cinquin, Sister Emmanuelle, Chiffonnière avec les chiffonniers, Editions ouvrières (Paris, France), 1977, translation by Kathryn Spink published as To Share with God's Poor: Sister among the Outcasts (also published under other similar titles), Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1982.

Cinquin, Sister Emmanuelle, Confessions d'une religieuse, Flammarion (Paris, France), 2008.

Wyatt, Monica, Outcasts of the Rubbish-Dumps: The Story of Sister Emmanuelle, Religious and Moral Education Press (London, England), 1985.

PERIODICALS

Chicago Tribune, October 21, 2008, sec. 1, p. 26.

Los Angeles Times, October 22, 2008, p. B6.

New York Times, October 25, 2008, p. B10.

Times (London, England), October 22, 2008, p. 62.