Catholic saint who ministered to the lepers of Hawaii.
On January 23, 1838, a daughter was born to Peter (1787–1862) and Barbara Witzenbacher (1803-1872) Koob (later Anglicized to Cope), of Hessen, Germany. The following year, the family emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York.
Barbara worked in a factory until August, 1862, when, at age 24, she entered the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After her profession on November 19, 1863, taking the name Marianne, she began teaching German immigrants at Assumption Parish School.
Sr. Marianne held the post of Superior in several places and was twice the Novice Mistress of her congregation. She established two hospitals in central New York, St. Elizabeth's in Utica and St. Joseph's in Syracuse. A natural leader, three different times she was Superior of St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful during her years in Hawaii. Elected Provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously re-elected in 1881.
Two years later, the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having Hansen's Disease (leprosy). More than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse Sisters, 35 sisters volunteered immediately.
On October 22, 1883, at age 45, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii, where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu. On the island of Maui, they also opened a hospital and a school for girls. Mother Marianne promised her Sisters that they would never contract leprosy; none did. "God has called us for this work. If we are prudent and do our duty, He will protect us....Remember, you will never be a leper, nor will any Sister of our order."
In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for women and girls. Fr. Damien de Vuester, already internationally famous, had contracted leprosy and would die on April 15, 1889, with Mother Marianne at his bedside. On Molokai, she took charge of the home that Fr. Damien had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach. Hawaii was annexed to the United States in 1898 during her time there.
For the next 30 years, she and other Sisters of St. Francis worked among the lepers, caring for them and making them comfortable, as there was no cure. She left a legacy of schools, orphanages, and hospitals on four islands.
Mother Marianne was awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. She continued her work faithfully. Never contacting leprosy, she managed to reach the age of eighty, suffering from kidney disease and being confined to a wheelchair.
After supper on August 9, 1918, she asked to be wheeled to the veranda of the convent. Mother Marianne raised a weak hand, looked out over the grounds, and gave her blessing to the facility. Returned to her room, she died peacefully in her sleep a little after 11 p.m. After a funeral Mass at St. Francis Church, she was interred on the grounds of the Bishop School in Kaluapapa, Hawaii. She was re-buried in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu in August of 2014.
Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai. Mother Marianne was beatified on May 14, 2005, and canonized on October 21, 2012, both by Pope Benedict XVI. Her memorial day is January 23.
On January 23, 1838, a daughter was born to Peter (1787–1862) and Barbara Witzenbacher (1803-1872) Koob (later Anglicized to Cope), of Hessen, Germany. The following year, the family emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York.
Barbara worked in a factory until August, 1862, when, at age 24, she entered the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After her profession on November 19, 1863, taking the name Marianne, she began teaching German immigrants at Assumption Parish School.
Sr. Marianne held the post of Superior in several places and was twice the Novice Mistress of her congregation. She established two hospitals in central New York, St. Elizabeth's in Utica and St. Joseph's in Syracuse. A natural leader, three different times she was Superior of St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful during her years in Hawaii. Elected Provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously re-elected in 1881.
Two years later, the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having Hansen's Disease (leprosy). More than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse Sisters, 35 sisters volunteered immediately.
On October 22, 1883, at age 45, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii, where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu. On the island of Maui, they also opened a hospital and a school for girls. Mother Marianne promised her Sisters that they would never contract leprosy; none did. "God has called us for this work. If we are prudent and do our duty, He will protect us....Remember, you will never be a leper, nor will any Sister of our order."
In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for women and girls. Fr. Damien de Vuester, already internationally famous, had contracted leprosy and would die on April 15, 1889, with Mother Marianne at his bedside. On Molokai, she took charge of the home that Fr. Damien had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach. Hawaii was annexed to the United States in 1898 during her time there.
For the next 30 years, she and other Sisters of St. Francis worked among the lepers, caring for them and making them comfortable, as there was no cure. She left a legacy of schools, orphanages, and hospitals on four islands.
Mother Marianne was awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. She continued her work faithfully. Never contacting leprosy, she managed to reach the age of eighty, suffering from kidney disease and being confined to a wheelchair.
After supper on August 9, 1918, she asked to be wheeled to the veranda of the convent. Mother Marianne raised a weak hand, looked out over the grounds, and gave her blessing to the facility. Returned to her room, she died peacefully in her sleep a little after 11 p.m. After a funeral Mass at St. Francis Church, she was interred on the grounds of the Bishop School in Kaluapapa, Hawaii. She was re-buried in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu in August of 2014.
Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai. Mother Marianne was beatified on May 14, 2005, and canonized on October 21, 2012, both by Pope Benedict XVI. Her memorial day is January 23.
Catholic saint who ministered to the lepers of Hawaii.
On January 23, 1838, a daughter was born to Peter (1787–1862) and Barbara Witzenbacher (1803-1872) Koob (later Anglicized to Cope), of Hessen, Germany. The following year, the family emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York.
Barbara worked in a factory until August, 1862, when, at age 24, she entered the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After her profession on November 19, 1863, taking the name Marianne, she began teaching German immigrants at Assumption Parish School.
Sr. Marianne held the post of Superior in several places and was twice the Novice Mistress of her congregation. She established two hospitals in central New York, St. Elizabeth's in Utica and St. Joseph's in Syracuse. A natural leader, three different times she was Superior of St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful during her years in Hawaii. Elected Provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously re-elected in 1881.
Two years later, the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having Hansen's Disease (leprosy). More than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse Sisters, 35 sisters volunteered immediately.
On October 22, 1883, at age 45, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii, where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu. On the island of Maui, they also opened a hospital and a school for girls. Mother Marianne promised her Sisters that they would never contract leprosy; none did. "God has called us for this work. If we are prudent and do our duty, He will protect us....Remember, you will never be a leper, nor will any Sister of our order."
In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for women and girls. Fr. Damien de Vuester, already internationally famous, had contracted leprosy and would die on April 15, 1889, with Mother Marianne at his bedside. On Molokai, she took charge of the home that Fr. Damien had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach. Hawaii was annexed to the United States in 1898 during her time there.
For the next 30 years, she and other Sisters of St. Francis worked among the lepers, caring for them and making them comfortable, as there was no cure. She left a legacy of schools, orphanages, and hospitals on four islands.
Mother Marianne was awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. She continued her work faithfully. Never contacting leprosy, she managed to reach the age of eighty, suffering from kidney disease and being confined to a wheelchair.
After supper on August 9, 1918, she asked to be wheeled to the veranda of the convent. Mother Marianne raised a weak hand, looked out over the grounds, and gave her blessing to the facility. Returned to her room, she died peacefully in her sleep a little after 11 p.m. After a funeral Mass at St. Francis Church, she was interred on the grounds of the Bishop School in Kaluapapa, Hawaii. She was re-buried in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu in August of 2014.
Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai. Mother Marianne was beatified on May 14, 2005, and canonized on October 21, 2012, both by Pope Benedict XVI. Her memorial day is January 23.
On January 23, 1838, a daughter was born to Peter (1787–1862) and Barbara Witzenbacher (1803-1872) Koob (later Anglicized to Cope), of Hessen, Germany. The following year, the family emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York.
Barbara worked in a factory until August, 1862, when, at age 24, she entered the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After her profession on November 19, 1863, taking the name Marianne, she began teaching German immigrants at Assumption Parish School.
Sr. Marianne held the post of Superior in several places and was twice the Novice Mistress of her congregation. She established two hospitals in central New York, St. Elizabeth's in Utica and St. Joseph's in Syracuse. A natural leader, three different times she was Superior of St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful during her years in Hawaii. Elected Provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously re-elected in 1881.
Two years later, the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having Hansen's Disease (leprosy). More than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse Sisters, 35 sisters volunteered immediately.
On October 22, 1883, at age 45, Mother Marianne and six other sisters left for Hawaii, where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu. On the island of Maui, they also opened a hospital and a school for girls. Mother Marianne promised her Sisters that they would never contract leprosy; none did. "God has called us for this work. If we are prudent and do our duty, He will protect us....Remember, you will never be a leper, nor will any Sister of our order."
In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for women and girls. Fr. Damien de Vuester, already internationally famous, had contracted leprosy and would die on April 15, 1889, with Mother Marianne at his bedside. On Molokai, she took charge of the home that Fr. Damien had established for men and boys. Mother Marianne changed life on Molokai by introducing cleanliness, pride, and fun to the colony. Bright scarves and pretty dresses for the women were part of her approach. Hawaii was annexed to the United States in 1898 during her time there.
For the next 30 years, she and other Sisters of St. Francis worked among the lepers, caring for them and making them comfortable, as there was no cure. She left a legacy of schools, orphanages, and hospitals on four islands.
Mother Marianne was awarded the Royal Order of Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. She continued her work faithfully. Never contacting leprosy, she managed to reach the age of eighty, suffering from kidney disease and being confined to a wheelchair.
After supper on August 9, 1918, she asked to be wheeled to the veranda of the convent. Mother Marianne raised a weak hand, looked out over the grounds, and gave her blessing to the facility. Returned to her room, she died peacefully in her sleep a little after 11 p.m. After a funeral Mass at St. Francis Church, she was interred on the grounds of the Bishop School in Kaluapapa, Hawaii. She was re-buried in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu in August of 2014.
Her sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still work on Molokai. Mother Marianne was beatified on May 14, 2005, and canonized on October 21, 2012, both by Pope Benedict XVI. Her memorial day is January 23.
Bio by: Angela
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