The Woman Who Said ‘Yes’: The Story of Thora Mootoo and Cluny Eucharistic Centre

By Denise Scott

Who is Thora Mootoo?

To many, she is the strong, dynamic female leader, the face and voice behind Cluny Eucharistic Centre on Mt Moriah Road in San Fernando. But behind what appears to be strength is a story of absolute surrender.  To know who Thora Mootoo is you must first understand what happens when an ordinary woman whispers ‘yes’ to an extraordinary God.

On the eve of Cluny Eucharistic Centre’s 31st anniversary, just hours before preparing for their celebratory Mass with Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon, Thora sat quietly and reflected on a journey that began not with money, buildings, or recognition, but with prayer and a deep desire to show gratitude to God for the deliverance she herself had received.

The story before the story began in Thora’s living room. Thora shared how close to 70 people would pack into her family home—a prayer group she started—people who were hungry for something deeper than routine Sunday worship, hungry for the presence of God. Her father would grumble about the crowd and the noise, but Thora could not ignore what was stirring in her spirit. This prayer group started because she knew the value of spiritual warfare and she wanted to help others in search of deliverance. During this journey she also knew how important the Blessed Sacrament was.

Thora confessed that she found herself drawn to sit before the Blessed Sacrament at Presentation College. She went almost daily for Eucharistic Adoration at nights. There, in the silence of Blessed Sacrament, God began writing a story she herself could never have imagined.

It was there she encountered Barbara Thom, a woman carrying a vision in her heart. The vision was to establish little adoration chapels throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Barbara approached Thora who thought it was a marvellous idea, and they approached Sr Patrice at St Joseph’s Convent in San Fernando and asked for a room to start her chapel. Sister Patrice agreed and offered them a small room for an adoration chapel. Sr Patrice also insisted that they open on the Feast of the Visitation and on May 31, 1995, Cluny Eucharistic Centre was born.

She reminisced, “Fr Pascal celebrated the very first Mass”. A small crowd gathered, despite nobody really understanding what this new ministry was about. It was unfamiliar. Uncertain. Yet grace was already moving.

At the beginning, it was simply three women: Barbara Thom, Sr Patrice, and Thora Mottoo. Three women, one calling, and a God with impossibly large plans. Barbara Thom later went on to establish small adoration chapels. Sr Patrice was reassigned and now leads Emmaus Centre. Yet Thora remained steadfast, because this is where God called her to be

“The early days were difficult,” she admits. Attendance was small. Resources were few. But Thora prayed. She encouraged the people from her prayer group to come out on a Wednesday night and so the prayer meeting moved from her home to the Centre.  Thora remembers one night at prayer meeting, during deep prayer, the Lord gave her a prophecy: “Many people will come through here”. She laughed, “girl, if you see how small the room was I could not imagine what God meant when he said many people would pass through here”.

But miracles began happening within those walls. Healings. Deliverance. Restoration. Lives that had been broken began finding wholeness again through the tender presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Then, First Friday healing nights became so powerful that they had to open a second classroom. Then a third. It was growing. Then, Fr McGuire joined the ministry and committed to celebrating Mass three times a week. The crowds grew.

They remained at their first location at St Joseph’s Convent in San Fernando  for nearly 16 years before the building was sold. It was a sad and troubling time and for many ministries, that would have been the end. But women like Thora who trust God, do not stop at closed doors. Instead, Cluny became officially registered and was formally appointed through then-Archbishop Edward Gilbert and given permission by Rome to continue its mission.

Their move brought them to Pointe-à-Pierre Road. The rental property was promised to someone, but they prayed for the person to get a better place because they needed that spot with 35 car park spots.  The owner said if the person did not return by Monday for the property, they would get it and, of course by God’s grace and through non-stop prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, the owner agreed to lease it to them. “We prayed before the Blessed Sacrament,” Thora recalls softly. “And God made a way”. But once again, the ministry outgrew the space, and the owner raised the rent and they needed to move.

Then came the moment that would require the greatest faith of all. A real estate agent led them to a property on Mt Moriah Road. The instant Thora walked through it, she knew: this was home. There was only one problem. The property cost ten million dollars.

They did not even have one million.

Still, they prayed.

They fasted.
They trusted.
They placed the impossible before God.

Then the owner unexpectedly reduced the cost to 5.2 million dollars. Exhausted and frustrated, Thora jokingly recalls telling the agent rather bluntly, “Well you eh do nothing for me.” Today she laughs sheepishly at the memory. “I should not have said that”

But God was already speaking.

During prayer, the Lord led her to the Gospel passage of the loaves and fishes in Matthew 14. She became annoyed. “God, what are You trying to tell me?”

Then she read it again.

Five loaves.
Two fishes……

5.2 million.

From almost nothing, God would provide abundance. The instruction from God was simple: Invite people to plant the seed.

A Seed Mass was then organised with Fr David Khan. That first single Mass raised $299,000.  Then they received pledges from all who would come to help pay the monthly instalments. She laughs again as she remembers, the bank asking her if she was insane. But Thora stood firm in faith, “If you can’t help us,” she told them, “I’ll go elsewhere.” So, they reneged and gave her the mortgage.

And somehow, miracle upon miracle, the money came.

People pledged.
People sacrificed.
People believed.

On the eve of Corpus Christi in 2013, Cluny Eucharistic Centre officially opened its doors at its present location on Mt Moriah Road. And to this day, they never take up a collection during their services. “Because,” Thora says simply, “you do not charge people for the presence of God.” But they do take up collections at Masses to give back to the many priests that continue to bless them.

Today, Cluny Eucharistic Centre is more than a building. It is a living, breathing community of faith. By day, it is an adoration chapel and counselling centre. Weekly prayer meetings continue. Conferences are held locally and internationally. Every second Saturday, they quietly feed and clothe close to fifty men without fanfare, simply because the Gospel calls them to do so.

Another great ministry, their forty-hour pilgrimages before the Blessed Sacrament, has transformed lives. Marriages have been restored. Addictions broken. Lost souls have returned to the Church. And people of every background and religion continue to walk through their doors seeking peace.

Yet even after thirty-one years, Thora’s heart still burns with new dreams. One of her greatest hopes is to establish a daycare centre for healthy seniors. A safe, loving space where the elderly can spend their days with dignity, companionship, and joy. She envisions a place with gardens, games, comfortable recliners, meals, medical care, pedicures, and assistance with daily needs, ensuring that no elderly person feels abandoned or alone. More than just a facility, she hopes it will become a community where aging parents are cherished, cared for, and reminded that their lives still have value and purpose. Today, she continues to pray for a building donation that could help make this vision a reality.

But perhaps the greatest testimony is not the building or the ministry.

It is the woman herself.

Before any of this began, Thora says she endured severe spiritual attacks and personal suffering. Through the guidance of Bishop Mendes and Fr Taylor, she experienced healing and deliverance. Out of that experience, she made a promise to God: to dedicate her entire life to Him and His people.

She chose the single life.
She chose service.
She chose to surrender.

And through her ‘yes’, thousands have encountered Jesus. Not just Catholics but persons from all walks of life.

With tears in her eyes and humility still untouched by all these years of ministry, Thora says quietly: “I am grateful that God can call me in my nothingness to serve Him in His bigness.”

Happy 31st anniversary, Cluny Eucharistic Centre.

May the God who multiplied five loaves and two fishes continue multiplying grace through every soul who enters your doors.