The Little Company of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious institute of women (also referred to as the Blue Sisters) dedicated to caring for the suffering, the sick and the dying.[1][2] The order was founded in 1877 in Nottingham, England by Venerable Mary Potter.
This religious institute is distinct from Company of Mary, an institute for men (also Roman Catholic) founded by Saint Louis de Montfort in 1713.
History
The Little Company of Mary began in 1877, in an abandoned factory in Hysal Green, Nottingham.
Their principal work is the care of the sick and dying.[3]
In 1882, they went to Italy. Mary Potter had gone to gain approval for the Constitutions of her new Congregation, and while there established Calvary Hospital on the Via S Stefano Rotondo not far from St. John Lateran.[4] In 1888, the sisters expanded their work to Ireland. In 1893, three Little Company of Mary Sisters arrived in Chicago 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.[5][6] As of 2019 there are sisters working in California, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
Their healthcare ministries include hospitals, home care, hospice, extended care, and outreach programs.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sisters of the Little Company of Mary". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.