What is Helen Prejean?
{{Infobox person | name = Helen Prejean | image = HelenPrejean.jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1939|4|21}} | birth_place = [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], U.S.A | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = [[Roman Catholic nun]], spiritual adviser, author, anti-death penalty activist | spouse = | known_for = }} '''Helen Prejean''' (born April 21, 1939 in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]) is a [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[nun]]. She is a member of the [[Sisters of St. Joseph#Congregation of Saint Joseph|Congregation of St. Joseph]]. She is a well-known [[activism|activist]] against the [[Capital punishment in the United States|death penalty in the United States]]. ==Early life and education== Helen Prejean was born to Augusta Mae ([[Given name|née]] Bourg; 1911–1993), a [[nurse]], and Louis Sebastian Prejean (1893–1974), a [[lawyer]].<ref name=bio/> She joined the [[Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medaille]] in 1957. In 1962, she received a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in English and Education from [[St. Mary’s Dominican College]] in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]]. In 1973, she earned a [[Master of Arts]] in [[religious education]] from [[Saint Paul University]] in [[Ottawa, Canada]].<ref name=MADP/> She has worked as:<ref name=MADP/> * The Religious Education Director at [[St. Frances Cabrini Church (New Orleans)|St. Frances Cabrini Parish]] in New Orleans * The Formation Director for her [[religion|religious]] community * A [[junior high school]] and [[high school|senior high school]] teacher. ==Death row ministry== Prejean began to work with [[prisoner]]s on death row in 1981, in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1982, a friend asked her to write to [[Elmo Patrick Sonnier]], who was [[Conviction|found guilty]] of [[murder]] and [[Death penalty|sentenced to death]] by [[electric chair|electrocution]]. He was in prison in the [[Louisiana State Penitentiary]].<ref name=trib/> Prejean visited Sonnier in prison and agreed to be his spiritual adviser in the months leading up to his [[executi