Marie Louise Habets
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Marie Louise Habets (January 1905–May 1986) was a
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
nurse and former
religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pra ...
whose life was fictionalised as Sister Luke (Gabrielle van der Mal) in '' The Nun's Story'', a bestselling 1956 book by American author
Kathryn Hulme Kathryn Hulme (July 6, 1900 – August 25, 1981) was an American author and memoirist most noted for her novel '' The Nun's Story''. The book is often misunderstood to be semi-autobiographical. Writing Her 1956 book ''The Nun's Story'' wa ...
. The Belgian-born actress Audrey Hepburn portrayed Gabrielle van der Mal in the 1959
Fred Zinnemann Alfred ''Fred'' Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an Austrian Empire-born American film director. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thrillers, westerns, film noir and pla ...
film '' The Nun's Story'', and was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...
.


Life

Habets was born in
West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...
in January 1905. In 1926, she entered the
Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded in Ghent, Belgium. An enclosed religious order, its main apostolate is helping the needy and the sick, inspired by the work of Saint Vinc ...
, an
enclosed religious order Enclosed religious orders or ''cloistered clergy'' are religious orders whose members strictly separate themselves from the affairs of the external world. In the Catholic Church, enclosure is regulated by the code of canon law, either the Lat ...
which cared for the sick and poor within their cloister. She was admitted to their convent on Molenaarstraat in
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
, and then took the religious name Sister Xaverine. In 1933, she was sent to the
mission hospital The following is a list of Mission hospitals. Afghanistan *CURE International Hospital of Kabul Bangladesh * Christian Missionary Hospital, Brahmanbaria * LAMB Integrated Rural Health & Development Project, Parbatipur * Christian Missionary ...
in
Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...
which her congregation staffed for the colonial government. She contracted
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
and returned to her home country in the summer of 1939, shortly before the start of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
and the subsequent German invasion of Belgium. Her father was killed shortly after this, causing Sister Xaverine to develop such a hatred toward the Germans that she became involved with the
Belgian Resistance The Belgian Resistance (french: Résistance belge, nl, Belgisch verzet) collectively refers to the resistance movements opposed to the German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Belgium, resistance was fragmented between many se ...
. She came to feel that she could not obey the dictates of her faith for forgiveness and applied to the
Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...
for a dispensation from her religious vows – a very rare request in her day. She was eventually granted this, and left the congregation on 16 August 1944 from their convent in
Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city an ...
.Rhoenline.com "Marie Louise Habets"
 Habets settled in Antwerp, which was liberated by Allied forces a few weeks later. She joined a British First Aid unit which nursed the soldiers wounded while fighting in the
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
. She was present in Antwerp when German forces massively bombarded the city soon after its liberation, killing and maiming some ten thousand people. After the end of the war in Europe, she was sent to Germany to help care for her fellow Belgians who had been imprisoned in
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
s there.
Kathryn Hulme Kathryn Hulme (July 6, 1900 – August 25, 1981) was an American author and memoirist most noted for her novel '' The Nun's Story''. The book is often misunderstood to be semi-autobiographical. Writing Her 1956 book ''The Nun's Story'' wa ...
's 1966 autobiography ''Undiscovered Country'' describes her first meeting with Habets in 1945. Both were volunteers with the
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...
(UNRRA), an international project working to resettle refugees and others displaced by the war. Hulme recounts that, at a training camp in northern France, she became aware of a Belgian woman who spent most of her time asleep. Even when awake, the woman, a nurse, was taciturn, solitary and preoccupied, almost asocial. In time, however, the Belgian nurse revealed herself as a diligent worker, a good friend, and a woman with a secret: she had just left the convent after 17 years of struggle with her vows. She felt burdened and depressed by a deep sense of failure. British writer Zoe Fairbairns took up the story with an article, ''The Nun’s True Story'', and a radio play, ''The Belgian Nurse'', aired by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 2007. Both show how Habets's life became Hulme's bestseller, and how the two women became friends, sharing a home for nearly 40 years. Their parallel lives are explored in "The Nun and the Crocodile: The Stories within The Nun's Story", a paper given by Debra Campbell at the Women and Religion section of the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting on November 21, 2004.


Hulme papers

Documents relating to Habets can be found among the Kathryn Hulme papers which are held at the
Beinecke Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...
at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
in the United States.Kathryn Hulme Papers
Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. These include a report by Habets about a repatriation transport from the displaced persons resettlement camp at
Wildflecken Wildflecken is a municipality in the Bad Kissingen district, at the border of northwestern Bavaria and southern Hesse. In 2005, its population was 3,285; the postal code is 97772 (US Forces used APO NY 09026 until July 15, 1991, when APO/FPO/DPO ...
,
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, which set off for Poland on April 30, 1946. The report is written in English, which Habets did not speak fluently at the time; it was probably translated by Hulme. Read in conjunction with Chapter 14 of ''Undiscovered Country'', it shows the high value placed by Hulme, an American who had not lived under enemy occupation, on the first-hand knowledge, experience and powers of observation of her Belgian colleague. There is also a report by Habets on caring for tuberculosis patients at Wildflecken.


Later life

In late 1948 Habets had been promoted to Area Chief Nurse by the
International Refugee Organization The International Refugee Organization (IRO) was an intergovernmental organization founded on 20 April 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by World War II. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. ...
of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
. After continuing to help
displaced person Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
s for the next several years, she decided that she had no desire to live in her homeland again, and requested an American
visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...
. Hulme was her sponsor in this, and the visa was granted. After one last visit with her family, Habets and Hulme sailed from Antwerp to the United States on the SS ''Noordam'', arriving in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
during February 1951. They initially settled in
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, where she worked as a nurse in a hospital serving the Navajo people. They later moved to California, where she nursed Audrey Hepburn after a horse-riding accident which occurred during her filming of '' The Unforgiven''. In 1960, Hulme and Habets moved to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where Hulme continued to write, with Habets's support and assistance. They grew tropical fruits, bred dogs, rode horses, had friends to stay, gave talks, and socialized among the other Kauai expats. They remained Catholics, and Hulme continued her involvement with the work of the mystic G. I. Gurdjieff. Habets did some nursing, though mainly on a private basis for friends. Hulme and Habets travelled widely, sometimes together, sometimes independently.


Death and legacy

Habets died in May 1986, five years after Hulme. Having inherited her literary estate, Habets, in her own will, shared it out among members of her own family, members of Hulme's family, and six sisters, who cannot be traced. The resultant confusion makes it unclear who owns the rights, and who can give permissions. This is probably why ''The Nun’s Story'', along with Hulme's other books, remains out of print.


Bibliography

K. Hulme, ''Undiscovered Country'', Atlantic Little Brown, 1966


See also

*
Monica Baldwin Monica Baldwin (22 February 1893 – 17 November 1975) was a British writer and canoness regular for 28 years. After leaving her enclosed Order, she wrote of her experiences in a series of books which received a widespread audience at the time, ...
, who left her enclosed order after 28 years, and wrote a memoir about it


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Habets, Marie Louise 1905 births 1986 deaths Belgian humanitarians Women humanitarians 20th-century Belgian Roman Catholic nuns People from West Flanders Roman Catholic medical missionaries Female Roman Catholic missionaries Belgian Roman Catholic missionaries Former Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Belgian resistance members Belgian nurses Belgian emigrants to the United States Belgian LGBT people Roman Catholic missionaries in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Belgian expatriates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 20th-century Belgian LGBT people