THE religious order to which Derry nun Sister Clare Crockett belonged is to open the cause for her canonisation on the fifth anniversary of her death in April.
Sr Clare (33) was killed when the building in which she was teaching music collapsed in an earthquake in Ecuador in April 2016.
Following her death, recordings and writings made available by her order – the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother – revealed her path to the clerical life.
In a 2004 message Sr Clare told how she joined the religious order “with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other” and talked about how she wanted to work in movies before her calling.
Read More: Followers attribute miracles to Sister Clare Crockett's intercession
Her grave at Derry City Cemetery has become a place of pilgrimage following claims of miracles being attributed to her intercession.
Announcing plans to advance her cause for sainthood, the Derry nun’s followers said: “The 16th April will mark Sr Clare’s fifth anniversary. Sr Clare’s sisters at the Home of the Mother will be opening the cause this year for Sr Clare to be canonised.”
Under the rules of the Catholic Church, a cause for canonisation cannot be opened until five year after the person’s death, unless the five-year rule is waived by the Pope.
The process involves a number of stages before full canonisation.
Once the cause is formally opened, Sr Clare can be called a “Servant of God”.
Evidence and testimony about her life is gathered at diocese level and eventually sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the Vatican. If the congregation affirms her “heroic virtues”, Sr Clare will be declared “Venerable” by the Pope.
The next stage involves the investigation of a first miracle attributed to her intercession. If the miracle is accepted, she would be declared "Blessed" while the acceptance of a second miracle, after examination, would lead to her being declared a saint.
The entire process can take many years and could fail at any stage.
Campaigners have appealed to anyone who can testify that they were helped by praying to Sr Clare to send them to friendsofsrclarecrockett@yahoo.com
- Amended on February 8 - The Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother has asked us to make clear that under the rules of the Catholic Church, it is the bishop of the diocese where Sister Clare died who will make the decision as to whether or not to open the cause and not the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother
