Mary Potter

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Mary Potter

• Woman of Spirit

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Early life

• Born 22 November 1847
• Fifth child of Maryanne and William Potter. Her
  father left the family soon after.
• Marys childhood was very sheltered. Like other
  women of Victorian England, her education was
  limited to what she
• would need as a wife and mother
• or to care for her mother
• and brothers.

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Growing up

• In 1867, she became engaged to a friend of her
  brothers, Godfrey King. However, she also felt
  that she had some special purposea sense of
  responsibility to God and to others
• The engagement was ended and in 1868, Mary joined
  the Sisters of Mercy.
• This was not to last. Ill health and a sense of
  being in the wrong place led Mary home.

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Beginnings

• Her ill health continued and she spent a lot of
  time confined to her room, as she recovered.
• During this time, she was drawn
• to reach out to others, to those who were seen
  as worthless by society to treat them with care
• and respect so that they would know themselves
  as loved and
• lovable, by God.

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Being for Others

• She believed she was called to be the expression
  of Gods love for all, especially the sick and
  the dying.

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Being for Others

• She began to care
• for the sick, poor
• and those in need of her neighbourhood.
• While she faced a lot of opposition, she believed
  in her call to begin an order of Catholic
  religious sisters who would join her in this
  vision.

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The Little Company of Mary

• Without her mothers approval, she travelled to
  Nottingham, England and began the Sisters of the
  Little Company of Mary, with the support of
  Bishop Bagshawe, on July 2 1877.
• The first convent was an abandoned stocking
  factory, in Hyson Green.

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The spirit of LCM

• In the Christian bible, Mary the mother of Jesus
  stands in compassion and care, on Calvary, at the
  foot of the cross.
• In this, Mary Potter found inspiration for the
  life and service of the Sisters.

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Australia

• The Sisters of the Little Company of Mary, while
  never large in number, have reached out in
  service across the globe.
• The first Sisters came to
• Australia on 4th November,
• 1885. Although Mary
• Potter never visited
• Australia, the work
• here was close to her
• heart.

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• Mary Potter died in Rome on April 9th 1913.
• She was declared Venerable on 8th February 1988
  by Pope John Paul II. This means that the
  Catholic Church formally recognises the holiness
  of Mary Potter.