It was established by the Little Company of Mary to provide free-of-charge palliative care to the people of Wellington, Porirua and Kapiti.

Sister Margaret Lancaster, pictured above, helped establish Mary Potter Hospice 40 years ago. She remains a board member today.

She says setting up such a service wasn't without its challenges, with people's idea of dealing with dying to simply "put them in the corridor" or "out in the ground" and not talk about it.

The hospice began at Calvary Hospital in Wellington.

In 1988 the Little Company of Mary sold Calvary Hospital and gifted the Mary Potter Hospice to the people of Wellington as an independent non-sectarian charitable trust, the Mary Potter Foundation.

As part of the sale, the Sisters negotiated access to the hospital gardens and bought five houses on Florence Street.

However, there was little room for parking or further development, and some felt it was too close to the private hospital.

Fortunately, Ruth Gotlieb, a then-city councillor, found an "ideal site" in Mein St - a poorly used council park across the road from the hospital.

The sisters organised a land exchange with Wellington City Council to get the Mein St site. Construction on the new hospice started in December 1989 and it was officially opened in 1990.

Today services include the Inpatient Unit in Newtown and Day Hospices in Porirua and Kapiti.

Maintaining a community focus, Hospice services are provided wherever people are - at home, in aged care or in the Inpatient Unit in Newtown. Volunteers remain essential to the life and vibrancy of all Hospice services and connect the Hospice back to communities.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• marypotter.org.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

Sisters from Korea, England, Australia and Tonga 25 LCM's were present for the celebration which began with Mass in St Mary's Pro Cathedral.

In his homily Bishop Barry said: "This Mass today offers us the opportunity to give praise to God for his grace at work in the life and soul of Mary Potter and to give thanks for the great good the presence of the Little Company of Mary in our diocese has been over one hundred years".

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What surprised Mary's community was the effect of her death. All through the night and in the following two days, an incessant stream of people of all ranks in life came to kneel beside her bed, to pray and to kiss her hand. Mother Cecilia recalls: "She was visited by crowds, rich and poor, especially the latter to whom she had always been kind and generous. I shall never forget one old man who sobbed bitterly… We had to leave the door open all night to accommodate them all."

To shed some light on the woman whose death made such an impact in Rome, let's listen again to her story.

Mary was born in London on 22 November 1847 to William Norwood Potter and Mary Anne (Martin) Potter, both of the Anglican faith. Mary was the only girl after 4 sons and was born with a serious heart condition which caused her intense suffering all her life. Mrs. Potter, impressed with the faith of the Irish immigrant women around her, was converted to Catholicism when pregnant with Mary. By the time of Mary's birth, the Potters' marriage was in trouble, owing mainly to William's poor business acumen (he was virtually bankrupt by 1847) and his dour personality. When Mary was but a year old, he left the family and fled to Australia to escape a bankrupt's fate. Mrs. Potter reared the 5 young children largely on her own, with some financial help from her extended family. Continue reading

Sources

• Sister Mary Scanlan LCM in Marist Messenger
• Image: Memorial Hospital