Fr. Bob Kus 
The missionary hero of today is a woman of our times, Marianne Cope.
Maria Anna Barbara Koob, whose last name was later changed to Cope, was born on January 23, 1838 in Germany, but her family moved to Utica, New York when she was only 1 year old. When she was in eighth grade, she went to work in a factory to help support her family as her father became an invalid. When her father became an American citizen, the whole family received American citizenship.
After her younger siblings were able to support themselves, and her father had died, Maria entered the Sisters of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis based in Syracuse, New York. Her name in religious life was Marianne. She became a teacher and later a principal in newly established schools for German-speaking immigrants in the region.
By 1870, Sr. Marianne was elected to her Order’s governing council. In this role, she helped to establish the first two Catholic hospitals in central New York State. These hospitals were instructed to serve everyone regardless of religion or race. From 1870-1877, Sr. Marianne headed up St. Joseph Hospital, the first public hospital in Syracuse, N.Y.
In 1883, when Sr. Marianne was the superior general of her Order and long before Hawaii was an American state, King Kalakaua of Hawaii sent a letter to her Order asking for help caring for persons with Hansen’s disease, more commonly known as leprosy in those days. More than fifty religious orders had already refused. Sr. Marianne, however, was delighted to help. She said, “I am hungry for the work and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen Ones, whose privilege it will be, to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Islanders…I am not afraid of any disease, hence it would be my greatest delight even to minister to the abandoned ‘lepers.’”
Sr. Marianne Cope, with six other Sisters from Syracuse, went to Hawaii where they worked with lepers in hospitals on the islands of Oahu and Molokai.
In 1888, Sr. Marianne went to Kalaupapa on the island of Molokai. There, she cared for Fr. Damien who was already an internationally-known figure for his care for lepers and who was canonized in 2009. She also established a school for girls and women.
When Fr. Damien died, Sr. Marianne got the Brothers of the Sacred Heart to come to run Fr. Damien’s school for boys. A layman name Joseph Dutton, usually called “Brother Joseph,” was given charge of this house for boys. Joseph, a recovering alcoholic and veteran of the American Civil War, served faithfully for many years.
Sr. Marianne Cope died on August 9, 1918 at the age of 80. She was canonized in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI and is a patron saint of lepers, outcasts, the State of Hawaii, and persons with HIV/AIDS.
Saint Marianne’s feast day is January 23.
