Marianne Cope

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Mother Marianne Cope

Mother Marianne Cope (January 23, 1838 – August 9, 1918), was a Franciscan nun of the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis, a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. Born in Heppenheim (Germany) and entered religious life in Syracuse, New York, she worked, lived and died for the lepers on the island of Moloka‘i in Hawai‘i. She was not herself inflicted by the disease, a fact arguably declared to be miraculous considering her close contact with the patients over the course of several years, earning her the title, Blessed Marianne of Moloka‘i.

Mother Marianne was the first person beatified by Pope Benedict XVI and raised to the title of Blessed, awaiting canonization into sainthood.^[1] Her feast day is January 23 celebrated each year by her followers, especially her religious order, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse.

Mother Marianne was born in Heppenheim in the Grand Duchy of Hesse (Germany) and christened Maria Anna Barbara Koob. At the age of three her family moved to the United States, settling in the town of Utica, New York. She entered religious life by becoming a Franciscan nun.

Mother Marianne Cope, then Provincial Mother, traveled from Syracuse, New York to Honolulu, Hawai‘i in 1883 with six other nuns to answer a call for aid to the Hansen's disease suffers by King David Kalākaua. In 1888, she moved to Kalaupapa to help the ailing Blessed Father Damien of Moloka'i. When the famed priest died, Mother Marianne Cope took over the care of the patients of Kalaupapa.

In 1924 Saint Francis Convent in Honolulu was founded in her memory to train nurses to work with Hansen's disease patients. It is now Saint Francis School, which is a school for girls in grades 6-9.

On May 14, 2005, after a young woman claimed she was miraculously cured of multiple organ failure after praying to Mother Marianne, Mother Marianne was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in a ceremony in Vatican City. Both she and Father Damien are awaiting confirmation as the first saints from Hawaii.

Over 100 faithful followers from Hawai‘i attended the beatification ceremony. 300 followers from the Blessed Mother's religious order in New York were also in attendance. During the ceremony presided by Jose Cardinal Saraiva Martins, the Hawaiian song Makalapua was sung. The song was a favorite of Mother Marianne Cope.