By the walls of San Stefano Rotondo, one of the earliest Christian Churches, built to house the relics of St. Stephen, stand s a hospital built by the founder of the Little Company of Mary, Mother Mary Potter.

Mary Potter came to Rome in 1882, seeking approbation of her rule. Leo XIII encouraged her to remain in Rome - and to build a hospital to care for the needs of the English tourists. It was a task not completed until 1906. From 1882, however, the work of the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary took place in the homes of those who needed care.

The story of Mother Mary Potter and a brief history of the founding of the Little Company of Mary can be found here.

Following her arrival in Rome, Mary Potter and her two companions finally settled in a house graciously lent to the founder by Count Plunkett,  in Via Szforza ai Monti. In 1884 the community moved again to a larger home at Via Castelfidardo, where the first “casa di curia” for the sick was established, which catered for fifteen patients.

As the works of  the sisters became more widely known, further calls were made for their assistance, and the Roman  community had to be expanded  In 1886, a community was established in Florence, and in 1899 another in Fiesole.

With the foundation of Calvary Clinic in San Stefano Rotondo on the Coelian Hill, Mary Potter’s dream to establish a school of nursing for Italian women was enabled to come into being, and both as a hospital and training school for nurses, it earned the respect of many.

Today women of the Little Company of Mary still serve the needs of the people of Italy, and reflect the importance of the Founder’s vision to be for the poor the sick, the suffering and the dying.