Little Company of Mary Sisters

‘Blue Sisters’

The Little Company of Mary, a Catholic religious order, established the Calvary Hospital in Wagga Wagga in 1926.

The Sisters of this order – also known as the ‘Blue Sisters’ after the blue veils they wore – played a vital role in providing compassionate healthcare to the people of the Riverina district and beyond.

Today, the hospital continues to serve the local community.

Where it all began

The Little Company of Mary was founded in 1877 by Mary Potter when she was 30 years old. Wishing to dedicate her life to the sick and dying, Mary began by converting an old stocking factory into a convent in the English town of Nottingham.

The Sydney connection

In 1884, while in Rome, Mary was introduced to Sydney’s Archbishop, Patrick Francis Moran. He invited the order to send a group to Australia to establish a local congregation and 6 courageous young Sisters duly arrived in Sydney on 4 November 1885.

The women immediately began their work, devoting their lives to praying and caring for the sick and dying. Within 5 years of their arrival, there were almost 50 Sisters at the convent they had established in the Sydney suburb of Lewisham.

Establishing a hospital

In 1889, the order opened a small private hospital in Lewisham. Initially, the facility catered only for women and children but began admitting male patients from 1912.

In 1899, Mother Mary Xavier arrived from England to oversee the order in Australia. Under Mother Mary Xavier’s oversight, Lewisham Hospital grew to become one of Sydney’s leading general hospitals and nurse training schools.

The order expands

Mother Xavier also worked to expand the Little Company of Mary in the southern hemisphere. She oversaw the establishment of private hospitals in the order’s name in Adelaide (1900), Port Elizabeth, South Africa (1904), and Christchurch, New Zealand (1914).

Mother Xavier became seriously ill during the influenza pandemic of 1919 and her health was never the same again. Nevertheless, following the invitation of the Bishop of Wagga Wagga, Dr Joseph Dwyer, she and Mother Kieran Reardon were instrumental in the establishment of the hospital at Wagga Wagga in 1926. Sr. de Chantal Hatch, Sr Patrick Lynch, Sr Margaret Mary McInerney, Sr Joachim McMahon, Mother Elizabeth Duffy, and Mother Michael Doherty were also significant in the foundation of the Little Company of Mary Sisters ministry in Wagga Wagga.

Foxborough Hall was the original residence for the Sisters, as well as being the temporary hospital. It had accommodation for up to 14 patients, although that number was often exceeded. The Sisters also regularly visited the sick and provided health care in their homes.

In 1930, the new hospital opened on the current site in Wagga Wagga and was named Lewisham Hospital (renamed Calvary Hospital in 1954).

Continuing the good work

The Little Company of Mary was an exemplar of 19th century Catholic women’s orders. Putting community first, the Sisters focused on praying for the sick and dying and providing practical assistance to people in need through their healthcare ministry.

The Calvary Riverina Hospital carries on this caring tradition to this day through its mission of being for others.