Northern Ireland

Sr Clare Crockett: New religious community in memory of Derry nun killed in earthquake

Sister Clare Crockett from Derry who was killed in an earthquake in Ecuador last April.
Sister Clare Crockett from Derry who was killed in an earthquake in Ecuador last April. Sister Clare Crockett from Derry who was killed in an earthquake in Ecuador last April.

A community of nuns is to open a base in Ireland in memory of Sister Clare Crockett, who was killed an earthquake in Ecuador a year ago.

Sr Clare (33), from the Brandywell area of Derry, died on April 17 when the building she was teaching in collapsed.

Four nuns from Sr Clare’s order, the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother, will arrive in Ireland this weekend ahead of Monday's anniversary.

The sisters, two from Ireland and two from the US, will visit her grave at Derry City Cemetery before attending an anniversary Mass at St Columba’s Church, Long Tower on Monday night.

They will later travel to Co Roscommon where they will open a new “house” in the diocese of Elphin.

A larger-than-life figure, Sr Clare initially worked as an actress and had ambitions to become "famous in Hollywood" before becoming a nun.

However she admitted to developing an alcohol problem as a teenager and after attending a retreat with friends, she turned to religion.

Shortly before she announced her plans to join holy orders she quipped she would join up “with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other”.

The former Nazareth House Primary School and St Cecilia's College pupil died as she tried to help children to safety when the earthquake hit last year, claiming hundreds of lives.

The Servant Sisters were approved by the Catholic Church in 1994 and now have more than 100 nuns in 15 communities in Spain, Italy, Equador and the USA.

Sr Kristen Gardner of the order said the new Irish community would include Sister Ruth Maria O’Callaghan from Dublin, Sister Bernadette Clair from Cork and Sisters Michelle Klobe and Karen Dittus from the US.

“Our Lord is permitting us to finally fulfil a desire we have long had to open a community in Ireland, a desire which was very dear to Sr Clare’s own heart," she said.

"She had longed to see a community of Servant Sisters in her own country. We are filled with joy to see God’s providence and Our Lady’s hand which are very present."

The official opening Mass of the new community will take place on May 13 in the Sacred Heart parish in Co Roscommon.

A film about the life of Sr Clare – All or Nothing: Sr Clare Crockett – is due for broadcast later this year.