Originally published at National Catholic Register
The beatification cause of Sister Clare Crockett, an inspirational young Irish religious sister who died in 2016, formally opened Sunday with a ceremony at the Cathedral of Alcalá de Henares in Madrid, Spain.
The ceremony marked the beginning of the diocesan phase of the process, in which an elected tribunal will investigate her life, virtues, and reputation for holiness.
Crockett, who died in a 2016 earthquake in Ecuador at the age of 33, is now titled “servant of God,” the first step in the Catholic Church’s path to sainthood.
More than 100 people traveled from her hometown of Derry, Northern Ireland, to attend the event, including Bishop Donal McKeown. South American Cardinal Fernando Chomalí Garib, the archbishop of Santiago de Chile, also attended.
In Derry, approximately 500 people gathered at a movie theater to watch the ceremony broadcast live.
“The people of Derry are so proud of her,” McKeown told The Irish News. Crockett’s story “is a very striking example of someone who had a conversion experience and dedicated their life to Jesus.”
Crockett was born on Nov. 14, 1982, in Derry. As a charismatic and fun-loving teenager, she had a gift for acting and was contracted to present a
