Sisters Of The Little Company Of Mary
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Little Company of Mary is a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
religious institute of women (also referred to as the Blue Sisters) dedicated to caring for the suffering, the sick and the dying. The order was founded in 1877 in Nottingham, England by
Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...
Mary Potter Mother Mary Potter (22 November 1847 – 9 April 1913) founded the sisters of the Little Company of Mary in 1877. On 8 February 1988, Pope John Paul II proclaimed her Venerable. Early life Mary Potter was born in a rented house at 23 O ...
. This religious institute is distinct from
Company of Mary The Missionaries of the Company of Mary is a missionary religious congregation within the Catholic Church. The community was founded by Saint Louis de Montfort in 1705 with the recruitment of his first missionary disciple, Mathurin Rangeard. The co ...
–an institute for men (also Roman Catholic) founded by Saint
Louis de Montfort Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI. As well as preaching, Montfort ...
in 1713–and the
Sisters of the Company of Mary, Our Lady The Sisters of the Company of Mary, Our Lady are the members of a Roman Catholic religious order founded by Jeanne de Lestonnac (1556-1640) in France in 1607. The Order's mission is education, focused on the person in all their uniqueness. The ...
–a women's religious order founded by Saint
Jeanne de Lestonnac Jeanne de Lestonnac, Sisters of the Company of Mary, Our Lady, O.D.N., (December 27, 1556 – February 2, 1640), alternately known as Joan of Lestonnac, was a Roman Catholic saint and foundress of the Sisters of the Company of Mary, Our Lady, in ...
in 1607.


History

The Little Company of Mary began in 1877, in an abandoned factory in Hyson Green, Nottingham. Their principal work was the care of the sick and dying.Patrick, Mother Mary. "Sisters of the Little Company of Mary." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 27 February 2019
In 1882, they went to
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Mary Potter had gone to gain approval for the constitutions of her new congregation, and while there she established Calvary Hospital on the Via S Stefano Rotondo, not far from
St. John Lateran The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...
."Venerable Mary Potter", Calvary Health Care
/ref> In 1885, at the request of Cardinal Francis Moran in Sydney, Australia, six sisters traveled by ship to Australia, establishing a community there. Under the leadership of Mother Mary Xavier Lynch, the first provincial for Australasia, the order grew and established numerous hospitals in Australia and New Zealand. She also oversaw the founding of a hospital in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. In 1888, the sisters expanded their work to
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. In 1893, three Little Company of Mary sisters arrived in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
to begin their ministry in the United States, providing home-based hospice care. In 1930 Little Company of Mary Hospital was founded in Evergreen Park, Illinois."Our Story", Little Company of Mary, USA
/ref> As of 2019, there were sisters working in California, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Their healthcare ministries include hospitals, home care, hospice, extended care, and outreach programs. By 1922, the Little Company of Mary congregation had grown large enough to establish provinces with regional provincials. The four provinces were Australasia, England, Ireland and Italy.


See also

*
Little Company of Mary Health Care (Australia) Little Company of Mary Health Care, also known as Calvary Health Care is an arm of the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary in Australia. It operates a number of health services throughout Australia, including public and Catholic private hospita ...
* Sisters of Finding Jesus in the Temple


References


External links


Little Company of Mary
Religious organizations established in 1877 Catholic female orders and societies Catholic religious institutes established in the 19th century 1877 establishments in England {{RC-society-stub