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| FOUNDATION HISTORY
Clare
Perrins was born at Handsworth in Birmingham in October 1875 into a comfortable
middle-class family and was baptized in the Church of England. As a small
child, she heard a conversation between her father and a family friend
who mentioned that Catholics believe God is actually present in their
churches. The little girl noted this and consulted the Bible to see if
it was true. She then announced to her startled father that she wished
to become a Catholic. Though her father refused her wish, she had made
up her mind.
A determined and strong-willed
young woman, at the age of fourteen she sought the advice of a solicitor
and learned that if she left home and took a job to support herself she
would be outside her father's jurisdiction. She then announced her intention
to hire herself out as a domestic servant. To avoid the embarrassment
that would ensue, her father relented somewhat and gave his permission
for her to attend a Catholic School. She was taught by the Assumption
Sisters at Kensington, and, at the age of sixteen, was baptized into the
Catholic Church. So completely did she feel her conversion that she had
her family name changed to Ellerker, after a renowned Catholic ancestor
on her mother's side. A quote taken from the life of Mother Aimee de Marie,
a friend and contemporary of her times, says "Full of ardent love and
deep faith towards the Eucharist, Miss Ellerker had many great qualities...
very ardent and full of sincere generosity, she was far ahead of her times".
From the very first, Clare saw other ways of apostolic service
which meant radical change from what was then considered normal. The founding
community reached towards forms of social work considered to be very novel
at the time-- Clare was determined not to refuse any request for needed
assistance from a priest. The women undertook such labors of love as motor
chapels, sodalities, parish visiting, social and health reform efforts,
distress counseling, and many others. The life of our little Mother and
the history of the Corpus Christi Carmelite Sisters is chronicled in "With
God and Two Ducats" by Katherine Burton, and other publications such as "A Great Adventure".
Prayer for the Beatification
of our Mother Foundress
Mary Ellerker of the Blessed Sacrament
Father in Heaven, we thank you that you called Mother Foundress, Mary Ellerker of the Blessed Sacrament,
to live her entire life in close union with your Son Jesus, through the generous outpouring of your Holy Spirit.
We thank you for her faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist which bore fruit in her service to your poor and needy people, her dedication to the cause of unity among
Christians, and her constant prayer for the priests of your Church. We humbly pray that, as a way of fostering among us the many virtues which she practised, you may glorify her by granting us this special favor...
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
With ecclesiastical approval please report graces received to one of the following addresses:
Corpus Christi Carmelites
110 Lawrence Street, York, YO10 3EB, England
Corpus Christi Carmelites
412 W. 18th Street, Kearney, Nebraska 68845, United States
The Vice-Postulator, 5 Back Street, Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
Carmelite Postulator General, Via Sforza Pallavicini 10, 00193, Rome, Italy.
Our Sisters celebrated the 100th centenary year of the Congregation in 2007, gathering from all corners of the world in Leicester, England, to rejoice in the power of the message which unites us as sisters and servants of our Lord Jesus Christ and his mother, Mary, as Corpus Christi Carmelites.
In the last 100 years, our Sisters have gone through many changes, but through the inspiration of Little Mother, our desire to witness to Christian Unity and to serve the Church through her Bishops and Priests has never flagged. And just as she embraced the message of the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux, by accepting the Carmelite Scapular and all the obligations thereof, we undertake the salvation of souls through the ordinary love and sacrifice of consecrated religious life. As Carmelites our goal remains the same: to serve the Lord zealously, and to experience in the mind and heart, the power of the divine presence and the sweetness of heavenly glory, not only after death but already in this mortal life.
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Mother Mary Ellerker
of the
Blessed Sacrament
(1875 - 1949)
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The first Corpus Christi House
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Early Motor Chapels
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Traveling to Missions overseas
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Early archive photo of Trinidad, WI
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Growth throughout the Caribbean
and America
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