A nun from Derry is a step closer to sainthood after the process for her sanctification took place in Spain.
A special ceremony was held yesterday at the Cathedral of Alcala de Henares in Madrid for Clare Crockett (33) who died after an earthquake in Ecuador in April 2016 while carrying out missionary work.
Around 1,000 people attended the ceremony for Sister Clare.
It was streamed online with thousands of viewers, from the likes of the US and Australia, watching.
Sister Clare, from the Brandywell area, was originally an actress but turned down a presenting role on children’s TV channel Nickelodeon to become a nun.
She had been a self-confessed party girl earlier in her life and had ambitions to become famous before changing direction after having a religious experience during a retreat around Good Friday in 2000.
She said friends were in disbelief when she declared that she was going to be a nun while holding a “beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other”.
Sister Clare made her first formal oath to the church in February 2006 and professed her final vows in September 2010 before going on to work for the Catholic Church in Spain, the US and Ecuador.
She took her Holy Orders with the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother order.
Moments before her death, she had been teaching guitar and singing with several other women.
The earthquake killed at least 480 people, left 231 missing and injured over 4,000.
Sister Clare Crockett was killed in an earthquake in 2016
Sister Clare’s body was returned to be buried in Derry where her funeral was attended by Irish bishops, family and friends.
In November, she was declared a Servant of God by the Catholic Church, which is the first step towards becoming a saint.
During the service marking her next steps to sainthood, Sister Kirsten said the Derry community received messages from more than 50 countries outlining how Sister Clare impacted their lives.
Sister Kirsten added: “Her community has received messages from over 50 counties and they’re still receiving them years later.
“Desperate souls on the verge of suicide have regained hope. University students have received strength to return to the Lord and lukewarm Catholics have regained the desire to be saints and return to God with all their hearts.”
She explained that a common theme of the messages was how Sister Clare was described as “their friend, even without many having met her”.
Sister Kirsten said: “People who knew Sister Clare in the countries she carried her apostle also testified to her generous dedication and radicalness in living a faith that made her stand out from others.”
Sister Clare’s motto was said to be “all or nothing” and a documentary was made about her.
A social media group dedicated to her said she had a “beautiful infectious smile lighting up our homes and many others across the world.
“Derry is very proud to call you one of their own”.
Among those who travelled to the Madrid service were family, friends, priests and Derry Bishop Donal McKeown.
“The people of Derry are so proud of her. There’s a group of people from all ages and backgrounds [who] have travelled from all over,” he said.
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Sister Clare’s sister Shauna Gill, who was in attendance, said: “There’s people we’ve never met before here too, so it’s a great experience.”
Ms Gill said the ceremony will see her sister declared “a servant of God” and that the family are “very proud and excited”.
“There are four steps to becoming a saint, so this is the first one,” Ms Gill said.
“Clare’s life will be investigated before we can move on. No one knows how long it can take — 10 years, 20 years, two years, it depends on how fast things move.”
She added: “Nobody has been through this in our lifetime, so nobody knows what to expect or what’s going to happen.”
The ceremony saw five selected members of the church put their right hand on a Bible and swear an oath to correctly investigate the case for her sainthood.
In testimony following the service, Ms Gill said her family “never could have imagined” her sister would ever begin her journey to sainthood.
“When Clare left (to become a nun), we all imagined she would be home blaming us for letting her go, but how wrong were we.
“We visited Clare a few times and were there when she took her vows. It was very emotional.”
Ms Gill said the family was “devastated” after finding out about their loved one’s death, adding that “it was the most heartbreaking thing our family ever had to endure”.
“After two weeks, we finally got our Clare home. Hundreds of people came to our home to support our family and pay their respects to her,” she added.