Acton, Marie Imaculeé, 1905-1994

Marie Imaculeé Acton was born on April 1, 1905 in Berne, Switzerland to Richard Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron of Acton, and Dorothy Lyon. Acton was the eldest of nine children. Her father was a diplomat at the British Legation.

Acton studied singing in Vienna and London, and cared for sick pilgrims in Lourdes. In Lourdes, she met the Catholic journalist Douglas Woodruff, whom she married in 1933. Acton assisted Woodruff in his editorship of the Tablet, an English Catholic weekly international review. Acton was a Catholic charitable activist and President of the Catholic Women’s League, and she particularly focused on coordinating aid and relief for refugee children during the Second World War. Acton’s refugee activism continued in the postwar period. Acton’s activism was recognized through many papal honors. Acton was made a Senior Dame of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta. Marie Imaculeé Acton died on April 5, 1994 in Marcham, Oxfordshire.