First step on path to sainthood for Derry’s Sister Clare Crockett to take place in Madrid

The opening of the cause for the beatification of Sr. Clare Crockett will take place on Sunday, January 12, 2025 in the Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares at 5.30 pm.

Sister Clare’s home parish of the Long Tower shared the ‘amazing news’ that ‘our dear Sr. Clare Crockett’ is to be declared a ‘Servant of God’ early next year.

This means the life and works of the Brandywell nun are to be formally considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church.

Sr. Clare died tragically in a devastating 2016 earthquake in Playa Prieta, Ecuador, where she was based with the Home of the Mother order. She was 33.

Announcing the opening of the cause for beatification the Order of the Mother recounted how Sr. Clare had wanted to become a famous actress in Hollywood but set aside all her dreams one Good Friday to become a nun.

"Her overflowing joy led many souls, especially young people, to discover that true happiness is found only in God,” the order stated.

Over the past eight years the order has received thousands of messages and mails from more than fifty countries and many people have continuously requested that the necessary steps be taken to study the sanctity of Sr. Clare.

"The Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, after praying and reflecting intensely on what we should do, saw in this desire of the faithful a clear indication that the Lord was asking us to request the opening of the process of Sr. Clare Crockett on the diocesan level.

"His Excellency, Antonio Prieto Lucena, Bishop of the Diocese of Alcala de Henares, has accepted our request. He will preside the opening ceremony of the cause for the beatification of Sr. Clare Crockett on January 12, 2025, in the Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain, at 5.30 pm.

“The Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother have been constituted as the petitioner of the cause in which Sr. Kristen Gardner, Servant Sister of the Home of the Mother, has been named postulator,” the order confirmed.

Blessing of new mural for Derry nun Sister Clare Crockett this weekend