Death of Sister Damien

The Institut Pasteur would like to honor the memory of Sister Damien, one of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, who worked at the Institut Pasteur for more than 38 years.

Ms. Bornens, who later became Sister Damien, first joined the Institut Pasteur in 1955, working as a technical assistant at the hospital (the Louis Martin and Emile Roux pavilions) until 1957, when she left to become a nun.

Sister Damien then returned to the hospital in 1960, where she worked on an unpaid basis as a nurse and then a ward sister. In January 1975, she was appointed as matron, a position she held until she retired in 1997.

Throughout her career, Sister Damien was responsible for supervising hospital staff and helping to provide technical and medical training for nursing staff and young medical interns. She also offered psychological support to patients and their families and to staff under her responsibility. Sister Damien played a decisive role in the smooth running of the hospital, especially during the years when it hosted patients with AIDS.

Sister Damien was strongly attached to the Institut Pasteur and donated a wonderful archive collection documenting the activities of the nuns at the hospital and the nursing school during the 1940s and 1950s.  

It can be consulted by appointment in the CeRIS Archives Division at the Institut Pasteur (contact: archives@pasteur.fr).
 
It is with deep sadness that the Institut Pasteur offers this tribute to Sister Damien.

Photo : Vie à l'Hôpital Pasteur entre 1950 et 1954.
Isolement du malade.
Soeur Reine (à gauche), Soeur Damien (à droite)