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Clare Crockett

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Sister

Clare Crockett

S.H.M.
ChurchRoman Catholic
Personal details
Born
Clare Theresa Crockett

(1982-11-14)14 November 1982
Derry, Northern Ireland
Died16 April 2016(2016-04-16) (aged 33)
Playa Prieta, Ecuador
BuriedDerry City Cemetery
ProfessionNun
MottoAll or Nothing

Sister Clare Maria of the Trinity and the Heart of Mary, S.H.M. (born Clare Theresa Crockett; 14 November 1982 – 16 April 2016) was a Catholic religious sister and former actress from Northern Ireland.[1][2]

Early life

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Clare Crockett was born in Derry in Northern Ireland. As a young child she loved to act and be with her friends.[3] In secondary school she was most passionate about literature and theater. She was a very lively student and played the class clown at times. She joined an acting agency at 14 and got her first job at 15. She worked as a theater actor, writer and director, and as a TV presenter for Channel 4, and was offered a position at Nickelodeon which she turned down. She was a self-confessed wild child during her teenage years and loved to go partying.[4] She wanted to be an actress from a very young age, and landed a small part in the 2002 film Sunday, about the events of Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972.[5]

Call to religious life

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After a religious experience in Spain on Good Friday 2000, she felt called to religious life.[3] She felt confirmation of her call in the months afterwards, including from a priest at World Youth Day 2000 who told her surprising details of her childhood.[6] During her final school year she felt torn between her worldly life and her call to vocation, and her worldly life seemed to be winning out. However, further religious experiences and the continued feeling of having a call helped convince her.[7] In summer 2001 she went back to the convent of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother (S.H.M.) in Spain, where she took the name Sister Clare Maria of the Trinity and the Heart of Mary.

Life as a religious sister

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She worked in Spain, the United States and Ecuador, doing pastoral care duties, hospital chaplaincy, teaching and missionary outreach. She was known for her interpersonal skills and was much loved by her pupils.[8] As part of her work, she voiced the character of Lucy[9] in the children's series "Hi Lucy" which aired on EWTN for many years.[10] It was still showing as "Lucy and Friends"[11] on their Europe[12] and Asia-Pacific[13] TV channels as of May 2023.

Death and legacy

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Headstone

On 16 April 2016, while she was playing the guitar and singing with her companions, the house where she was staying collapsed due to the 2016 Ecuador earthquake.[14] Hours later she was found lifeless under the rubble. She died due to multiple injuries in Playa Prieta, a community of Riochico, Portoviejo, Ecuador.[15][16][17]

Her remains were flown from Ecuador two weeks after her death back to her home town of Derry and were laid to rest in the new area of the City Cemetery on Lone Moor Road.[18]

Since her death, the story of her life has been covered in several sources and she has been described as an "inspirational example of womanhood".[19][20] The movie All or Nothing summarizes her life.[21][22] In 2020, a house-sized mural commemorating Sister Clare was unveiled near her home in Derry,[23][24][25] and a sister in her religious order published a biography of her.[26][2]

Cause for beatification

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A number of healings and fertility miracles have reputedly been attributed to her by people who prayed for her intercession,[27][28][29] and a 2020 article in The Irish Catholic referred to calls for her to be declared a saint.[30] In January 2021 her order said that, while they had begun "to take steps in view of opening the cause" of her beatification, such a step would depend on the local ecclesial authorities in Ecuador, as set out in the Catholic Church's 2007 Sanctorum Mater document.[31] In the same statement, the order described as "fake news" a claim that it would open a cause for beatification in 2021, noting that the beatification process does not begin until at least 5 years after a person's death.[31] The order issued a further clarifying statement in September 2021, noting that while it "truly seems that Our Lord is permitting her to intercede and help people", simply visiting her grave a fixed number of times or asking her for help "is not magical".[32] They said that a request for Sr. Clare's intercession depends on the request, one's faith, and on God's will.[32]

In May 2023, Sr. Kristen Gardner stated that she had been appointed postulator of the cause of beatification of Sr. Clare. She said that the opening of the cause was underway and had been moved to the diocese of Alcalá de Henares in Spain after permission was received from the bishop of Portoviejo, from Rome, and from her local bishop. She said this had been done to make the process easier, since their community is headquartered in Spain, and also because Sr. Clare had lived most of her religious life there.[33]

References

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  1. ^ "Funeral for nun killed in earthquake". BBC News. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b "'Grant me an undivided heart': first biography reveals spiritual writings of Sr. Clare Crockett". Catholic News Agency. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Sister Clare – Sister Clare and Companions". sisterclare.com. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Sr. Clare Crockett's Testimony at WYD 2011". Retrieved 1 June 2021 – via youtube.com.
  5. ^ Carty, Ed (18 April 2016). "Sister Clare Crockett: From 'wild' teen to selfless sister". The Irish News. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  6. ^ Sr Kristen Gardner, SHM (2020). Sr. Clare Crockett. Alone with Christ Alone. EUK Mamie Foundation. pp. 55–56 (Kindle edition). ISBN 978-8409232468.
  7. ^ Sr Kristen Gardner, SHM (2020). Sr. Clare Crockett. Alone with Christ Alone. EUK Mamie Foundation. pp. 59–63 (Kindle edition). ISBN 978-8409232468.
  8. ^ "Sr. Clare Crockett Interview with Sr. Grace Silao". Retrieved 13 November 2023 – via youtube.com.
  9. ^ "Lucy and Forgiveness – Sister Clare and Companions". sisterclare.com. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Sr. Clare on EWTN's Facebook – Sister Clare and Companions". sisterclare.com. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Lucy and Friends". ewtn.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  12. ^ "EWTN Europe TV Schedule". ewtn.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  13. ^ "EWTN Asia-Pacific TV Schedule". ewtn.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Biography". sisterclare.com. 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  15. ^ McDonald, Henry (18 April 2016). "Derry nun among those killed in Ecuador earthquake". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  16. ^ White, Stephen (18 April 2016). "UK nun killed trying to save friends from Ecuador earthquake". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Tragic nun who died in Ecuador earthquake gave up wild teenage lifestyle to help the poor". Irish Independent. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Her Tomb – Sister Clare and Companions". sisterclare.com. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  19. ^ Fleming, Joanne. "Sister Clare Crockett was an 'inspirational example of womanhood' mourners at funeral of Ecuador earthquake tragedy nun hear". Retrieved 1 June 2021 – via belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  20. ^ Sr Kristen Gardner, SHM (2020). Sr. Clare Crockett. Alone with Christ Alone. EUK Mamie Foundation. p. 339 (Kindle edition). ISBN 978-8409232468.
  21. ^ "All or Nothing". 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Clare Crockett: Film celebrates nun killed in earthquake". BBC News. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Sister Clare Crockett: A wasted life..." Retrieved 1 June 2021 – via youtube.com.
  24. ^ Young, David (16 August 2020). "Sister of late Clare Crockett tells of pride over mural of nun in hometown". BelfastLive. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  25. ^ McDaid, Brendan. "Editorial: All or Nothing: The example of Sister Clare Crockett". derryjournal.com. Derry Journal. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  26. ^ Gardner, SHM, Sr. Kristen (2020). Sr. Clare Crockett: Alone with Christ Alone. Agencia. ISBN 978-8409232468.
  27. ^ McKinney, Seamus (28 February 2020). "Followers attribute miracles to Derry nun Sister Clare Crockett's intercession". The Irish News. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  28. ^ McDaid, Brendan. "It is a miracle, that is the only explanation". derryjournal.com. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  29. ^ Deeney, Donna. "Ecuador quake victim Derry nun Sr Clare now a focus for prayers around the world". Belfasttelegraph. Retrieved 1 June 2021 – via belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  30. ^ Flood, Marianne. "Renewed calls for Derry nun Sister Clare Crockett, who died in an earthquake four years ago today, to be declared a saint". derrynow.com. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  31. ^ a b "Clarification on the potential opening of the process of beatification of Sr. Clare Crockett". sisterclare.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021.
  32. ^ a b "Clarification about Sr. Clare's Grave". sisterclare.com. 6 September 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023.
  33. ^ "Sister Clare Crockett: Canonization, Graces & Miracles". Home of the Mother. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
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