The Little Company of Mary: Charism and the Ethic of Care

Abstract

Religious congregations of women have been socialized in a tradition rich in gospel values, but one which was also hierarchical and patriarchal. My own congregation, the Little Company of Mary (LCM), is an international one, involved in health care since our foundation in Victorian England. Within both spheres, religious and medical, the patriarchal influence was strong and uncritically accepted until the second half of the twentieth cen tury. Here, I attempt to bring feminist and nursing philosophy to bear on the care debate within nursing. An ethic of care demands that we go beyond competence, important as that is. This ethic, found to be at the heart of our LCM identity, suggests to us today, that our founder, Mary Potter (1847- 1913) was a feminist ahead of her time.