Mary Virginia Merrick was born on November 2, 1866, in Washington, DC, to parents who valued faith, education, and service. As early as the age 12, she wanted to devote herself to serving children in need, inspired by her love of the Christ Child. Even when paralyzed and unable to sit without support as a result of a fall in her teens, Mary never faltered in her determination to serve the poor.  

At the age of 18, Mary Virginia Merrick persuaded her sisters and some friends to make a layette for a family in extreme poverty with a baby due to be born at Christmas, in honor of the Christ Child. The layette was delivered to the deeply grateful mother and father. This would be the start of her mission service.

The late 1880s were not easy years for Mary personally. She endured surgical treatments and hospitalization. At 19, her parents died within a short time of each other. Mary took over many of the household responsibilities despite paraplegia from a spinal cord injury in her early teens.

Nevertheless, her circle of friends continued to grow throughout this period, and the Society of the Christ Child, later to be known as the “Christ Child Society,” was established in 1887. 

Mary Virginia Merrick’s vision continues to inspire Christ Child Society members today to do more for more children.  And her example is a powerful legacy that inspires many others to lives of service and faith as well.

In witness of this, in 2011, Cardinal Wuerl of the Washington Archdiocese officially opened the cause for Mary Virginia Merrick’s canonization as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, which continues in the Archdiocesan Phase.

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For more information, you can go to www.maryvirginiamerrick.org and her Facebook page to follow her cause for canonization.