Sr Clare Crockett, a nun from Brandywell in Co Derry who died in 2016, is officially a 'Servant of God' following the opening of the cause for her beatification in a ceremony at the Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares in Madrid, Spain on January 12.
Ever since Crockett's tragic death during the 2016 earthquake in Ecuador, the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother have encountered people asking for the necessary steps to be taken to study the sainthood of the Derry nun.
The Sisters said in November that, "after praying and reflecting intensely on what we should do," they saw the inquiries as "a clear indication that the Lord was asking us to request the opening of the process for Sr. Clare Crockett at the diocesan level."
The Sisters announced that after receiving the transfer of powers and having carried out the investigation into the reputation of sanctity and all the required consultations, Monsignor D. Antonio Prieto Lucena, Bishop of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares, accepted their request.
Sr Clare with in Ireland in 2011.
Monsignor Lucena presided over the opening of the cause for the beatification of Sr. Clare in Madrid on January 12.
In order to be canonized as a saint, Sr Clare, now a 'Servant of God,' will next need to be declared Venerable, then be declared Blessed through beatification, and finally be canonized.
The event was attended not only by the Sisters, but also by more than 100 people from her native Derry, including family, friends, and as well as Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown and the Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, Cardinal Fernando Chomalí Garib.
Born in Derry in 1981, Clare Crockett was a "wild child" in her younger years with hopes - and promise - of going to Hollywood.
In 2014, Clare admitted in testimony that "Although we [her family] were Catholic, we’ve never been fervent in the Faith."
In 2000, Clare went on a trip to Spain with a friend under the impression that there would be sun, beach, and parties. The trip, however, was a Holy Week encounter in a small town.
Clare more or less 'went through the motions' through the trip - at least until Good Friday, when she attended Liturgy and partook in the Adoration of the Cross.
"To kiss the Cross - something that seemed so insignificant - had such a strong impact on me," she wrote.
She was changed, but not transformed. Clare later went on to attend World Youth Day in Rome. Though she admitted that she did not "live that trip very well," she recalled her testimony: "He searched for me until He found the perfect moment to say to me, 'I want you to live like them.'
"'They' were the sisters, and to live 'like them' meant being a nun!"
Clare Crockett in 2001.
When she returned home, Clare "continued to live as before," though she could not shake the thought of the nuns.
"Everything that I thought was going to make me happy and free only tied me down and deceived me," Clare wrote. "It was then that I said to God, 'That's enough!' The peace that I have found with You and in the Home, I can’t find anywhere else. I have to take this step and it's now or never.”
A brief biography of Sr Clare states: "Neither her family’s pleas, nor her manager’s promises, could stop her.
"On August 11, 2001, she gave her life to God as a candidate in the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother."
Clare Crockett in 2002.
Clare went on to take her first vows on February 18, 2006, taking the religious name of Sr. Clare Maria of the Trinity and the Heart of Mary. She later took her perpetual vows on September 8, 2010.
After her first vows, Clare went on to serve in the Servant Sisters’ communities in Belmonte, Cuenca (Spain), Jacksonville, Florida (USA), Valencia (Spain), Guayaquil (Ecuador), and Playa Prieta, Manabí (Ecuador).
Sr Clare in 2006.
On April 16, 2016, Clare, 33, was in Playa Prieta in Ecuador when the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck.
"Sr. Clare and the group of young women who passed away were on the first floor," her biography says. "They had had guitar class and were about to pray the Rosary with the rest of the sisters and girls.
"The heavy quake caused the building to collapse, with four Sisters and seven girls inside. Only five were rescued alive.
"Curiously enough, they had been talking about death during lunch that very day. Very convinced, Sr. Clare had said, 'Why should I be afraid of death, if I’m going to go with the One I have longed to be with my whole life?'"
Sr Clare in 2011.
"Never in a million years did we think she was going to be a nun, never mind make her way to sainthood," Clare's sister Shauna Gill told BBC News NI this month before the opening of the cause for the beatification in Madrid.
"A lot of people have asked us about grieving for Clare, but I don't think we have ever grieved for Clare because she is talked about every day."
Recalling her sister, Shauna said: "Everything in Clare's life growing up was dramatic, nothing was plain sailing."
Clare was "always destined for a life in the spotlight," Shauna added.
"Our Clare would have loved all of this attention and the drama about her.
"But Sr Clare would have liked to be in the background – I don't think she would like all the limelight."
Sr Clare with her family in Ireland in 2011.
Shauna added: "We are immensely proud of her, nervous to the unknown as nobody has ever experienced this in our lifetime... but the support we have is unbelievable."
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