A surprise hit, the album topped the Billboard 200 and other charts internationally for several weeks and sold millions of copies, particularly on the strength of the single "Dominique".

The album was initially intended to be a give-away, recorded for local children who enjoyed music from the local nunnery,[2] but Philips decided to try giving it a widespread release, resulting in a huge commercial and critical success, garnering sales certifications and award nominations.

[3] Editors at AllMusic rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, with critic Lindsay Planer writing that "the enormously infectious charm of the tunes" overcomes the novelty act status of The Singing Nun and her "musical gifts are undeniable and phonetically so well written and conveyed that the language barrier becomes reduced to the point of irrelevance".

[4] In a review for a 2014 reissue, John Clarke of The Independent highlighted several tracks and wrote that "perhaps like a box of chocolates there’s a bit too much to take at one sitting".

[6] All songs written by Soeur Sourire Sales for this release were initially slow, but rapidly expanded in late 1963.