Central to "Miss Mary's" spirituality and her ministry was the Incarnation of Christ as an infant..
Her service to the poor and vulnerable was based on her own devotion to the Christ Child and her belief that anything asked of Him for a child would be given.
Early Years
Mary Virginia Merrick, known as Miss Mary, was born on November 2, 1866, to a prominent Washington, DC, family. Her childhood was marked by privilege; however her parents instilled in Miss Mary and her siblings the responsibility to care for the less fortunate.
Childhood Influences
Miss Mary’s spirituality was deeply influenced by her parents who strove to raise their children in a religious environment. The Merrick children were taught the Catechism, attended weekly Mass, prayed daily as a family and were encouraged to see God in creation and in their fellow human beings.
In 1880 (age 14), Miss Mary fell while playing and was left paralyzed from the waist down. Despite this, Miss Mary convinced her parents to allow her to attend school and accompany her mother on charity home visits to distribute food and clothes to the needy. In 1884, after her parents died, she was left to care for her six younger siblings.
The Beginning of the National Christ Child Society
This same year, she began what became the "layette service" program and, with her friends, gave poor children Christmas gifts marked "from the Christ Child."
By 1887, she established the Christ Child Society to help needy children. Early programs included making and distributing layettes to newborns; providing food, clothing and Christmas gifts to needy families; and providing sick children a place to recuperate away from the city.
She did this at a time when no similar organization existed, certainly none established by a lay person or run by someone living with a serious physical disability. At the time of her death on January 10, 1955, Miss Mary had established 37 chapters of the National Christ Child Society in the United States and one at The Hague.
Love for the Christ Child
Miss Mary was known for her direct service to children, a service born of, and constantly inspired by, her love and devotion to the Christ Child. For Miss Mary, God’s presence was most fully experienced through the Incarnation and creation. The Incarnation of Christ as an infant was central to Miss Mary’s spirituality and the work of the Christ Child Society.
She saw each child as the Christ Child and took seriously the Gospel call, “whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Miss Mary desired from a young age to enter religious life and was drawn to the Sisters of Charity. While her paralysis kept her from religious life, she was not discouraged. She focused on ways in which she could serve the Lord.
In her diaries, Miss Mary recounts powerful experiences of prayer, the influence of the writings of St. Francis of Assisi and the impact of doing charitable work with her mother and sisters. She often wroe about the healing effect of nature on her and how she drew comfort from God’s creation.
Dedication to Human Dignity through a Love of the Christ Child
It was because Miss Mary saw the Christ Child in every child that she worked tirelessly to provide children with clothes, shelter, food, medical and dental care, and, most importantly, a religious education, all in the name of the Christ Child.
She inspired her friends, family and Washington society’s elite to provide for the poor materially and spiritually. Strengthened by her faith in Christ, she was able establish a national organization and preach the Gospel message to millions, all the while in pain and confined to her bed or a reclining chair.
Culture of Life
It has been said that American culture promotes a “culture of death” in which human life is disposable and the proper dignity due each person, especially the sick, aged, poor and those with disabilities, is disregarded.
Mary Virginia Merrick offers an example of how to promote the “culture of life.” Her refusal to be cast aside by society due to her physical disability provides Catholics with a model on how to follow Christ despite physical limitations.
Miss Mary’s love of Christ compelled her to live out the Gospel through direct service to the most helpless of society, the children. She believed that the Christ Child called her to do His work and that all people regardless of their condition in life can serve the Lord.
Inspiration to All of Us
Her life provides American Catholics with an exceptional witness to the faith and “culture of life.” That she founded this charitable outreach while confined to a wheelchair, with only the use of her arms and hands, raises her virtue to an heroic level.