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NUN WHO SPOKE UP FOR MARRIAGE FOR PRIESTS AND CONTRACEPTION WAS AWARDED LÉGION D'HONNEUR IN 2002. RELIGIOUS figurehead Sister Emmanuelle has died in her sleep aged 99. The nun, who was

due to celebrate her 100th birthday on November 16, recently published her last book J'ai cent ans et je voudrais vous dire I’m 100 and I want to tell you… – a book of lessons she had

learned throughout her life. In the books she said that she was “no saint” and even described herself as occasionally “vindictive”, “angry” and “slightly feminist”. Her other works include

Richesse de la Pauvreté, Secrets de Vie Yalla les Jeunes and Le Paradis, c'est les Autres. She was born Madeleine Cinquin in Brussels and worked in countries around the Middle East. She

gained her reputation in France for her work among the poor of Cairo where she moved in 1971 at the age of 63. The president of the Asmae-Association Soeur Emmanuelle founded by the nun in

1980, said that her funeral would be a small private affair in accordance with her wishes. She left Cairo and returned to France in 1993 where she spoke out on behalf of the homeless and

illegal immigrants. She was awarded the Légion d'honneur in 2002 and was made a grand officier in February 2008. Photo:René Bouthors