John Arnold: My pilgrimage to hail Derry girl Clare, truly a saint of our times
I know most people think of saints as those who lived way, way back in time in an era when the definition of sainthood was a bit hazy.
From our youth, we all remember the Litany of the Saints. It was often said after the Rosary, part of the ‘trimmings’ when saints’ name after saints’ name was recited and we responded ‘pray for us, pray for us, pray for us’ for what seemed like an eternity.
Apparently, up until around the 12th century there wasn’t rhyme nor reason to how a person was declared a saint.
Since that time, only the pope ‘of the day’ has the authority to make such a pronouncement - the process is referred to as canonisation.
So it seems that some saints like Philomena and Christopher are kind of halfway to heaven when it comes to sainthood!
In June this year, I trod the familiar paths and lanes once walked by St Bernadette in Lourdes, and a month later walked the fields and meadows where little children Francesco, Jacinta and Lucia met Our Lady in Fatima.
A century after the Fatima apparitions began in 1917, both Francesco and Jacinta were declared saints - the ‘cause’ of Lucia is still under investigation.
Now on to the lady who I have no doubt is a modern-day saint.
You know how you might have a leisurely conversation with someone when time is plentiful and the living is easy? Well, that’s how it happened. Talking about Lourdes, the weather, the Munster Final and the price of cattle - you know yourself; well, we were chatting about all the problems in the world at present.
Then we got a bit more positive and talked of all the absolutely wonderful people that have made the world a better place. My friend mentioned the name of a remarkable woman to me - yes, I’d heard of her before around the time of her death back a few years ago. A fleeting name in my mind but something told me to find out more about her.
Back in 1975, Swedish pop star Harpo had a huge hit right across the world with the song - ye all might know the catchy chorus
Those lyrics summed up the dreams and thoughts of so many young people who had ambitions to be a real star on the silver screen. One such girl was Clare Crockett, from the Brandywell district in the City of Derry.
Born in 1982 - one of three sisters - Clare and her parents Gerard and Margaret experienced all the trials, tribulations and horrors of ‘the Troubles’. Derry was a divided city and nationalist families like the Crocketts knew all about discrimination and sectarianism.
From an early age, Clare was an extrovert with her radiant smile and bright and bubbly personality. Though from a Catholic family, she herself admitted the ‘practise of the faith’ was not uppermost in her mind.
As a child, she loved performing -singing, playing music, and acting, and was never as happy as when she had a guitar in her hand in front of a microphone.
The phrase ‘wild thing’ could well have been coined for her during her teens. She wasn’t troublesome and caused no huge problems for her parents, but boy did she love to party!
Like so many of her generation, Clare took the Confirmation pledge at 12, promising to abstain from alcohol until she was at least 18. That solemn promise went out the window when she was just 13!
At just 14, she answered a newspaper ad which stated, ‘Are you dreaming of becoming an actor on the big screen’? Opportunity beckoned and soon Clare’s undivided attention - though still in school - was towards the movie world.
At 15, she was a presenter with Channel 4 and had her own manager. By 16, she was with the USA-based Nickelodeon company.
Clare lived by the mantra, ‘Girls just wanna have fun’, so parties, discos, and nightclubs were part and parcel of her teenage years.
You know that phrase, ‘I still haven’t found what I’m looking for’? Well, despite her fame and money-earning capacity, and a sheaf of offers from the acting and film worlds, young Clare Crockett was undecided as to what direction to go.
She loved the bright lights, the ‘craic’, the fags, and the drink, and religion wasn’t high on her ‘bucket list’.
A group called Christ in Others Retreat (COR) had been formed in Derry to help with reconciliation through prayer. Clare wasn’t one of the first to sign up, but friends persuaded her to go on a weekend retreat under the auspices of COR.
A new religious community, The Home of The Mother, was founded in Spain in 1982 - the year of Clare’s birth. This community were invited to Derry by COR and then in return they asked that a youth group from Derry travel to Spain for Holy Week in the year 2000.
Sharon Doherty, a close friend of Clare’s, was to travel but a burst appendix meant she couldn’t go. She rang Clare and asked: “Would you like to go to Spain for a week - all paid for?”
Dreaming of sun, sand and sangria in Ibiza, Clare jumped at the opportunity. The group travelled to the small Spanish town of Priego in Cuenca province. Clare was both shocked and disappointed to find they were staying in a monastery for the duration of Holy Week!
They say God works in mysterious ways, and by heavens what happened on that Good Friday of the year 2000 is proof positive of that truism.
Clare thought, ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em’, so she went along to the Easter ceremonies.
The world and future of Clare Crockett changed in an instant when she knelt to kiss the feet of Jesus nailed to the Cross. She summed it all up later in one sentence: “I had to do something for Him who had given His life for me.”
By God, did she do something!
This vivacious and charismatic girl saw her path unfold – far away from Hollywood. Instead, she joined the Order of the Home of The Mother.
She travelled to Spain, to Ireland, the Holy Land - all over the world - winning hearts, souls, and minds with her message of love of God and service to others. Smiling, laughing, praying, singing, teaching, hugging, and just radiating love.
Clare Crockett embraced her religious vocation with a zest and a passion that was amazing. She had wanted to be a famous movie star - ‘all or nothing’ - and now she became a nun, indeed a famous nun, teaching and preaching and joyously proclaiming her role in life. Tragically, that life was far too short.
In April, 2016, Clare was working in a school in Ecuador that was struck by an earthquake. Sister Clare Marie of the Trinity and the Heart of Mary was just 33 when she died as the school building collapsed.
She was ‘brought home’ and buried in the City Cemetery in Derry.
Her path to sainthood, in my mind, is absolutely certain.
I have never been to lovely Derry on the banks of the Foyle but have been invited to do so next month. On September 19, a bus ‘pilgrimage’ sets out from Cork via Knock to visit the grave of this remarkable woman -truly a saint of our times.
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