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The Guardian World1 min read
'My sister loved to party and turned her life around' - the nun on the way to sainthood
TL;DR
Clare Crockett, once a party-loving aspiring actress, became a nun and is now on the path to sainthood. Her sister reflects on her transformation and the impact of her life after her death in an earthquake.
Key points
- Clare Crockett was once an aspiring Hollywood actress
- She became a nun and is now on the path to sainthood
- She died in an earthquake 10 years ago
- Her sister reflects on her transformation
- A Catholic retreat honors her legacy
Mentioned in this story
Clare CrockettShauna GillLondonderry
She was a self-confessed wild child who ultimately swapped partying for prayer.
Clare Crockett's ambition was once for fame and fortune as a Hollywood actress.
But she would end up in a totally different role - first a nun and now, 10 years to the day after her death in an earthquake, a would-be saint.
Her sister, Shauna Gill, said she "belongs to the world now", as thousands attend a Catholic retreat named after the nun.
Sister Clare Crockett was born in Northern Ireland's second city of Londonderry in 1982, a year after Bobby Sands and nine other republican prisoners died on hunger strike and a time of great political upheaval.
As a young girl, she witnessed a British soldier being blown up.
But it was a chance trip to Spain in 2000 that would change her life forever.
"I thought I was going to Spain to party," she said before her death.
"I thought we were going to a place called Ibiza."
But partying would be replaced by prayer when she ended up at a pilgrimage in a small place called Priego, in the Cuenca region of central Spain.
It was there that she described feeling God's presence for the first time - and decided to turn her back on the party scene.
On Good Friday in 2000, she kissed the feet of a statue depicting the crucifixion of Jesus.
"I felt it was my sins that nailed our Lord to the cross and I just started crying," she said.
She entered the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother in 2001 at the age of 18 and took her first vows in 2006, taking the religious name of Sr Clare Maria of the Trinity and the Heart of Mary.
Her life motto was "all or nothing".
"I fell in love with Jesus Christ," she said. "He stole my heart."
She would die 10 years later in Ecuador, after the school where she was teaching music collapsed during an earthquake in April 2016.
In 2025, she was declared a Servant of God by the Catholic Church - the first step towards sainthood.
Since her death, Sr Clare's family have had navigate their own private grief, while also watching as her profile as a nun and potential saint gains global recognition.
"I don't think that we ever grieved Clare because from the day she died, she is spoken about every day, by us as her family, but also by strangers and by people all around the world," the nun's sister Shauna Gill told BBC Radio Foyle's
Q&A
What was Clare Crockett's life like before becoming a nun?
Clare Crockett was a self-confessed wild child who aspired to fame and fortune as a Hollywood actress.
When did Clare Crockett die and what was the cause?
Clare Crockett died 10 years ago in an earthquake.
Where was Clare Crockett born?
Clare Crockett was born in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in 1982.
What is the significance of the Catholic retreat named after Clare Crockett?
The retreat, attended by thousands, honors her legacy and reflects her transformation from a party girl to a nun.
