Mother Marianne Cope

Blessed Mother Marianne Cope (1838-1918)



No one would have blamed Mother Marianne Cope if in 1883, when she was asked to help care for a Hawaiian leper colony, she politely declined. Instead, Mother Marianne responded with a joyful heart and offered the rest of her life in service. For this reason, she was recently beatified by the Catholic Church.

Barbara Cope was born in Germany on January 23, 1838 to a poor working class family. When she was three, her family immigrated to the United States. Barbara grew up in Utica, New York. Like many other young immigrant women, Barbara worked in a factory. At the age of twenty-four, she entered the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York where she took the name "Marianne". She made her profession in November 1863 and began teaching at Assumption parish school.

Sr. Marianne's leadership abilities were quickly recognized. She served her community as novice mistress and superior. She also was named superior of St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse. In 1877, she was elected provincial of the order and was unanimously reelected in 1881. During her tenure, she received a letter from a Catholic priest asking for help in running the Kaka`ako Receiving Station for people suspected for having leprosy. Mother Marianne responded to the request with enthusiasm: "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.'"

At Kaka`ako, Mother Marianne and six other sisters quickly got to work cleaning the hospital and tending to the 200 patients. They also established a home within the compound to care for the non-patient daughters of those afflicted with leprosy. There was still much need, however, and the sisters went on to manage a hospital and school on Maui.

In 1888, the Hawaiian government asked Mother Marianne to supervise a new home for girls in Kalaupapa where the patients with the most severe cases of leprosy were sent to die. Father Damien DeVeuster, best known for his care of these terminal cases, had by this time contracted the disease himself and was eager for the sisters to come. Mother Marianne and two others arrived in November of that year. They not only ran the home for girls, but also managed the home that Fr. Damien had started for men and boys. The workload was challenging, but Mother Marianne sought to bring joy into the lives of her patients. She encouraged the women to dress prettily and wanted all to have pride and fun whenever possible.

Amazingly, perhaps even miraculously, Mother Marianne never contracted leprosy. She died of a heart attack at the age of eighty on August 9, 1918 and was buried on the grounds of Bishop Home at Kalaupapa. Mother Marianne Cope was beatified on May 14, 2005 at a ceremony held at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect for the Congregation for Saint's Causes who presided over the Eucharistic Celebration, referred to her life as a "wonderful work of divine grace."

Resources:

http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintmc4.htm

"Mother Marianne Cope and the Sisters of St. Francis" http://www.nps.gov/kala/docs/marianne.htm

"Blessed Mother Marianne Cope" http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintofDay/default.asp?id=1123

Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur has a Master of Arts in Applied Theology. She is author of "Letters to Mary from a Young Mother" (iUniverse, 2004) and editor of "The Spiritual Woman Newsletter" (http://www.spiritualwoman.net).



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