Blessed Maria Merkert (1817-1872)

Born in Silesia, Maria Merkert was of German ancestry. Until she was 25 she took care of her mother. After her mother’s death, she and her sister devoted themselves to serving the poor in a community that became known as the Grey Sisters of St. Elizabeth. During her lifetime approximately 500 Sisters joined the Congregation, which permitted her to enrich the Church with 90 religious houses in nine dioceses. Until her death in 1872, she was head of the community. She was beatified in 2007.