Welcome to Little Company of Mary Health Care.
As we share with you our heritage, we acknowledge the traditional owners of this land whose sacred space we share.
The names Calvary and Little Company of Mary are names that are part of the story of its Founder, the Venerable Mary Potter.
In 1877 she brought together a congregation of Catholic women in an abandoned stocking factory in Hyson Green, Nottingham - and so began the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary whose primary ministry was to be devoted to the care and nursing of the poor, the sick and the dying, with particular emphasis on prayer for the dying of the world.
Many women committed to the service of all people have followed the early Sisters. Lay men and women who shared this commitment also came to help, they are known as the Greater Company of Mary, and they too, have a special place in our story.
Mary Potter did not believe that her Sisters would be the only ones to engage in nursing within the Catholic Hospitals but believed that religious and lay people work together. In 1908 she began Nursing Training programs in Rome to provide training to lay people.
The Sisters soon spread their care across the seas and in 1885 six courageous Sisters left England to come to Sydney on the SS Liguria.
Once in Australia, the Sisters immediately set to work nursing the sick in their homes, conducting a soup kitchen and a night refuge, a school for the blind and a parish school and providing social services to those in need.
In 1889, the Sisters founded what was to become Lewisham Hospital in Sydney. It quickly developed a reputation for excellence in health care and became the school of training for the Sisters who, on completing their training moved to other parts of Australia to establish new hospitals and nursing schools.
The Sisters' reputation for compassion and care lead to invitations to serve communities across Australia. Maternity nursing was always considered and Mary petitioned Rome to allow confinement nursing to be undertaken by the Sisters. Limited permission was granted in 1886 with final approbation in 1905 on the provision that the more mature sisters undertake this role. This permission was granted only to the Little Company of Mary and it was not until 1936 that official approval to enter maternity nursing was made available to other religious congregations.
From these humble beginnings, these courageous, pioneering Sisters started an approach to health care that was to expand and grow. In a time when it was unusual for women to work outside the home, the Sisters, with support and advice, built hospitals, developed community services, negotiated agreements with governments, completed business training and accomplished many other community projects. They met with many obstacles but these resourceful women did what they could to overcome these challenges.
Today, Little Company of Mary Health Care in Australia has over 10,000 staff and hundreds of volunteers working within our health care, aged and community care services. Its services and facilities are located in cities and regional areas throughout Australia.
Worldwide, the Sisters of Little Company of Mary continue their mission in collaboration with other committed organisations - always governed by Gospel values.
The Little Company of Mary Healthcare recognises the unique dignity and worth of each person and through its services in private and public hospitals, touches the lives of many people each day. Each service is part of a healthcare system dedicated to offering compassionate care at all stages of life.
Care for the dying has always been central to the mission of the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary. This strong commitment to care of the person at end-of-life is expressed in the emphasis on excellence in Palliative Care.
Through all the changes that have taken place since those first sisters arrived in Sydney in 1885, what has remained firm and constant is our mission to bring the healing ministry of Jesus to those who are sick, dying and in need.
From this mission and Mary Potter's vision of compassionate service has emerged a core set of values that reflect the Australian spirit.
Throughout our history, the service given has been made richer by the participation of people of different cultures, traditions, nationalities, languages or faiths. We respect the beliefs of all of those with whom we work and for whom we provide care.
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