The Bishop of Nottingham (England), Archbishop Patrick Joseph McKinney, has asked for prayers to promote the cause of beatification of Mother Mary Potter, a nun who dedicated her life to caring for the sick.
At a mass broadcast live On February 8, Msgr. McKinney urged the faithful to visit, as soon as possible, the nun’s grave at St. Barnabas Cathedral in Nottingham, a city in the East Midlands region.
“When the COVID situation improves, I would encourage people to pray at his grave in the cathedral and seek his intercession in prayer. A miracle that could be attributed to the intercession of Mother Mary would certainly accelerate the careful process of canonization of the Church, ”said the Bishop of Nottingham about the founding nun of the Little Company of Mary.
Sister Potter was born in London in 1847. Due to a congenital disease of the heart and lungs, she suffered from lifelong ill health, including a chronic cough. His father left home for Australia a year after his birth and never returned.
After briefly testing her vocation with the Sisters of Mercy in Brighton, she became convinced that God had called her to found a community of religious dedicated to serving the sick and dying.
At the invitation of the then Bishop of Nottingham, Bishop Edward Bagshawe, he began his mission in 1877 with two companions in an abandoned hosiery factory in a poor area of the city. The place prospered during the Industrial Revolution thanks to its textile industry.
Eventually, he founded the Little Company of Mary, whose members wore a black habit and a distinctive pale blue veil. They fed poor children, educated local children, and visited the sick and dying.
Sister Potter battled breast cancer and scarlet fever, and at times confronted the bishop about the direction of the community.
In 1882, despite health problems, he traveled to Rome to ask for Pope Leo XIII’s blessing on his work. The Pope invited the sisters to open a house in Rome and in 1886 declared the Little Company of Mary an institute of pontifical law.
McKinney acknowledged that the nun “had a fragile health from her early days, suffered from heart problems and, later in life, cancer and tuberculosis”, but “Mother Mary had a strong personal empathy for the sick and dying, and those high standards of nursing work and palliative and spiritual care now continue in many countries around the world where the Little Company of Mary sisters have their foundations ”.
When Sister Mary Potter died on April 9, 1913, the congregation had expanded to New Zealand. She was buried in Rome, but in 1997 her remains were transferred to Nottingham.
In 1988, Pope Saint John Paul II declared her “venerable.”
At the conclusion of his homily, Mins. McKinney said: “How nice it would be if we could also put the word ‘holy’ before his name and his legacy here in Nottingham and in many parts of the world! I end by inviting them to join me in praying for his beatification ”.
Prayer for the beatification of Mother Mary Potter
“O God, for whose glory the Venerable Mary Potter founded the Little Company of Mary, grant that she may soon be beatified, so that her work and spirit may further benefit the suffering members of Jesus Christ. Amen.”
“Mary, Mother of the Church, may this ardent apostle of your Maternal Heart be better known for the special favors that are granted through her intercession. (Make your request here) Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory ”.
Translated and adapted by Diego Lopez Marina. Originally posted on CNA.
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