POTTER, MARY. - Foundress of the "Little Company of Mary," b. in London on 22 Nov. 1847, d. in Rome on 9 Apr. 1913.
Having renounced marriage and after an attempt at cloistered life with the Sisters of Mercy, listening to a clear interior voice she founded in 1887, amid continual and serious opposition, the "Little Company," beginning her work in Nottingham, in an abandoned corner of the city, in the midst of the most squalid poverty. She wished her religious to honor in a particular way the maternal Heart of Mary, especially in the mystery of Calvary; and to dedicate themselves, as their field of work, to the sick, in nursing homes and in their own hospitals, erected next to their convents; and furthermore to pray before the Most Blessed Sacrament for the dying. P., having come to Rome in 1882 to obtain the Pope's blessing on her work, was invited by Leo XIII to stay and found a second house in the city. Others, in a short time, opened also outside Europe, and almost all with a hospital attached. The Institute, approved with its constitutions on 13 May 1886, received definitive approval from Leo XIII in 1893.
Besides a great number of letters, which reflect her spirituality of a genuine Montfortian stamp, P. composed various writings to urge souls to the service of Jesus through Mary: The Path of Mary, The Spiritual Exercises of Mary, Mary Conferences, Mary's Call, Our Lady's Retreat, Loves in the Heart of Mary.
Worthy of mention is another work of P.: the
"Calvary Confraternity for the Dying," which aims at the cooperation of all Catholics in a league of continual prayer for the dying. The union, approved by Leo XIII, was enriched with indulgences by the S. Congregation in 1895.
Bibliography3 works
Celestino Testore