A Srsrnn oF Sr. FneNcrs OF THE NBUTVTANN COU*TUNITIES
FAMILYAND EARIYLIFE
q;;
1838 - 1918 beloryed mother of outcasts
Mother Marianae, formedy Bxbata Koob (variants: Kob, Kopp, and now officially Cope) was bornJanuary 23,1838 and baptized the following day in
c.
what is now Hessen,'West Germany. She was the daughtet of farmer, Peter Koob andBxban\&'itzenbacher Koob, his second wife. Peter Koob's first wife had nine children before she died, only trvo of whom teached adulthood. Petet and BarbaruKoob had five childten bom in Germany, and five born in the United States. In 1839, the yeat folloving Batbara's bitth, the family emigrated to the United States to seek a new start in the land of opportunity. Peter Koob became a natwalized citizen in the 1850s as did his children, including Batbara, who were minors at the time.
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Utica, circa 1855
St. Joseph's Parish in
The Koob family became members of St. Josepht Padsh in Utica, N.Y, where the children, incftrding Barbara, attended the parish school. Barberureceived her first holy communion and was confirrned at St. John's Padsh in Utica. It was the practice at that time for the bishop of the diocese to come to the latgest chuch in the atea to administer these two sacrameflts at the same time.
Utica, N.Y.
Batbara wrote of experiencing a call to religious life at an eatly age. Hovrwer, the desire to follow her vocation was delayed nine yeats because of family obtgatioas. As the oldest child at home, and aftet completing an eighth grade educatron, she went to wotk in t factary to suPport the family when het fathet became an invalid Only when het younger siblings could cate fot themselves did Barbara feel free to enter the convent. She did so one month aftet her father's death ia the summer of 1,862. She was 24 yexs of age.
RELIGIOUS LIFE
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Sister ltlarianne, mid-18S0s
Barbara entered the Sistets of Saint Fancis in Syracuse, N.Y on Novembet 19, 1862. She was invested at the Church of the Assumption and given the name Sister Matianne. One year later, at the same chutch, Sistet Marianne professed her vows of poverry chastity and obedience as a Sister of St. Francis. n0hen she eateted the congregation, it was her desire to teach' She did this for a period of time serving as teachet and principal in several schools in New York State. Sister Marianne's gifts and talents wefe soofl recognized and she held several
administrative positions in the congregation. the governing boards of her reli$ous communiql she participated in the establishment of t$/o of the first hospitals in the centual
As
a member
of
Sister Marianne became known and loqsed in tbe central New Yorh area
for ber kindness, wisd.om and down to earth practicality.
NevzYork area, St. Elizabeth Hospital in Utica (1866) and St.Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse (1869). Both hospitals begun by the Franciscan sistets had unique charters for their time. They were open to caring for the sick without distinction as to a person's nationality, lgligioo or color. These two hospitals were among the first 50 general hospitals in the entite U.S.
LEADER IN FIELD OF MEDICINE Sistet Matianne began het new career as admfuistrator at St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y in 1870 where she served as head administtator for six of the hospital3 first seven years. Her leadership in health care came about because of a need for someone with unique abilities and talents. It was often said that no challenge ever seemed too much for het. She possessed the intelligence and charisma
of a facilitatot
and the ene4fes
of a woman motivated by God alone.
first hospital opened to the public in the city of Syracuse, owes much to Sister Marianae for its establishment as well as its survival. Sister Marianne became arr innovator ia hospital management in order to provide better setvice to patients. Long before the impotance of cleanliness measures was known ot practiced in caring fot the sick, she strictly advocated practices St. Joseph's, the
such as simpiy washing ofles hands property before ministedng to the patients.
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St. Elizabeth Hospitalin Utica, N.Y., established 1866
Dudng Sistet Madanne's leadetship, the College of Medicine io Geneva, N.Y moved to &e fledgling Syracuse Univetsity to become the College of Physicians and Suqgeons, thus statting a rlew era of medicine fot the centtal New York area. This college chose to move to Syracuse because of Sister Ma-tiaone's willingness to accept its medical students for clinical instruction at St. Joseph's Hospital. She was also far ahead of het time in furthering patients' rights. In a letter of negotiations vith the Medical College she stated that it vias tlle tight of the patient in each and every case to decide whethet ot aot the patient wished to be seen by medical students. Often she vras criticized for treating "outcast' patients such as patieats suffeting from alcoholism, an affliction ftowned upon for hospital admittance by the medical profession atthat time. [Jnsurprisingly, she became knoum and loved in the cenftal Nesr Yotk atea for het kindness, wisdom and down to earth practicality.
St Joseph's Hmpitalin Syracuse, N.Y., circa
1870
Before the advent of nusing schools in the U.S., Sistet Marianne wotked by the side of doctors in Sytacuse ftom one of the country's most progressive medical colleges. Thus, this dedicated woman of God was in a position to gain the practical information regarding various hospital systems, nursing and pharmacy procedutes urhich she later put to good use in Hawaii.
CALL TO HA\TAII
still the land of the pioneer. Religious communities serving the imrnigrants and others had their hands firll, including the Ftanclscan sisters in Svracuse, N.Y Priorities of needs rvete difficuit to determine. Yet at the time 'tnhen Mothet Marianne was mothef general of her congtegation, she received a lettet ftom the famway Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawaii) with a request fot a capable leader to take charge of "our hospitals and e1'en our schoois, if it were possible. ...Have pity...on our poor sick, help us" Howeveq 1\'Iother
In 1883 the
U.S. was
In 1877 Sister Marianne utas elected motber general of tbe Sisters af St. Francis in Syracuse and gitsen the title "ttotber" d.s it wds castotn af the tine. ,:i-rfffi
Madanne grasped this as the most pressing need of her time. She gave her complete affirmation to his tequest urhen she learned that the main wotk was to ministet to people with Hansen's disease (eprosy). "f am not aftard of zny disease..." was her response to such a perilous inr.itation. Her devotion to St. Ftancis of Assisi who deeply cared for the sick poor, togethet with a special conceffl fot those with leprosy, confifmed her resolve that the call to Harvaii was God"s will. Six sistets were choserr from among the 35 volunteers from the congregation and Mothet Matianne accompanied them to the islands to
help them get setded in tleeir assignments.
On November 8, 1883, as the SS Nlariposa entered the harbot of Honolulu, the bells of Our Lady of Peace Cathedral rang and crowds gatheted ofl the wharf to see the sisters. No one was ever disappointed at the great expectations their coming ptomised. Having accomplished so
much good in het f,rst two years on the island, Mothet Matjanne was decotated by King Kalakaua of Hawaii with the medal of the Royal Ordet of
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Royal Order of Kapiolani medal awarded to Mother Marianne
King Kalakaua
IGpiolani for the acts of benevolence she planned and developed to help the suffering people
of
the kingdom.
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Sisters M. Rosalia Mclaughlin, Sister M. Martha Kaiser, Sister M. Leopoldina Bums, Walter Munay Gibson (Prime Minister of the Hawaiian Kingdom), Sister M. Charles Hoffmann, Sister M. Cresentia Eilers, Mother Marianne Cope
Besides uru, olff)od,, Motber Marianne is known to bazse brougbt ta fruitian mdny progrdms Fatber Datnien only enaisioned.
These eady years wete teplete with trials and tribulations. In 1884, at the request of the govefnment, she established Malulani Hospital, the fitst general hospital on the island of Maul She was qurckly called back to Oahu to deal with a govefflment appointed adminisffator's abuse of leptosy patients at Btanch Hospital at Kaka'akq are adjoining Honolulu. Mother Marianne demanded the goverament to choose ^n between the administrator's removal or the sisters return to S1'racuse. This demand
of the ovetsowded hospital. Futthermote, her expectation to retufll to Syracuse was delayed when the govefnment and chuch authority declared her leadership to be essential to the success of the mission.
resulted in her being given full charge
As the work kept increasing, another pressing need was fulfilled
a yeat later.
In
November 1885, after she convinced the government there was a vital need to save the homeless female childten of patients with Hansen's disease, the Kapiolani Home was opened. The unusual choice was made fot tfrese well childtea to live in a home on the premises of the hospital fot patients with Hansen's disease. This was done because flo olre other than the sisters could be found to care for those so closely dated to people with the dteaded disease' Branch Hospital on a rainy day Kaka'ako,
RENEIUTED CALL TO MOLOKAI
Honolulu, Hawaii
St. Damien DeVeuster rightfully is vierved as the 'i\posdes to Lepers." Yet, this good priest did not act alone particularly in tegard to providing care, protection or shelter
for people with Hansen's disease. Besides her own agenda, Mother Marianne is known to have brought to fruition many progtams Father Damien only envisioned.
Mother Matianne met Father Damien for tlre first time inJanuary 1884,when in apparent good health, he came to Oahu to attend the opening and dedication of a chapel at the hospital she was to administer. TVo years later, in 1886, Father Damien was diagnosed with Hansen's disease. Mother
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l
Father
Damien
Kalaupapa, Molokai, Hawaii
Sisters and residents of Bishop llome on the porch of St, Elizabeth convent in Kalaupapa, Motokai, 1904
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Marianne alone gave hospitality to the outcast priest upon hearing that is illness made him an unwelcome visitor to chutch and government leadets in Flonolulu. Mother Matiarrne aranged for his care with sensitiviry to his feelings and made sure he was treated well during his shot stay on Oahu. The example of her care turned leaders to his favor especially aftex a visit by royalty took place at the hospital. Soon afterwards, the situation fot the care of patients with F{ansen's disease began to change. Most new patients had not been sent into exile at Molokai for a number of years. However, in 1887, when a new government took charge in Hawaii, its officials decided to close the Oahu hospital and receiving station and to teinforce the fotmer alienation policy. The unanswered question was who would care for the sick who once again would be sent to the settlement for exiles on the Kalaupapa peninsula on the island
of Molokai.
MOTHER TO OUTCASTS
'\Ve will cbeerfwlly dccept tbe work.,."
Mother Marianne again tesponded to the plea for he$ she teceived ftom the new Hawaiian governmerit leadership in 1888. FIer positive respoflse would take het into a lifetime of exile togethet with those she served.
..,r:5rnffir;:,.
Because her presence was the necessaly agent for the success
of
the mission, she considered whether by accepting the challenge she rvould evet be able to return to see het beloved family and friends again.
Again, she followed the path of sacrifice. 'qW'e will cheerfully accept the work..." she courageously tesponded to an official appeal from govetnment asking fot someone to found a new home fot women and gitls with leptosv at the l(alaupapa settlement. "Our heatts ate bleeding to see them shipped off," she wrote to Father Damien at Molokai. In a letter sent home to S1'tacuse she explained that it had been her intent from the beginning to set up a mission at Molokai in order to g;ive needed care to exiled patients. It rvas clear to her to follow God's will regardless of her petsonal losses. N{othet Mar-ianne arrived at Kalaupapa sevesl months before F'ather Damien's death. \7ith rwo youthfirl assistants she was able to console the ailing ptiest by assudng him that she would provide care fot the patients at Bo/s Flome at I(alawaq located at the opposite end of the settlement he established. On Apd 15, 1889, just two weeks after the death of Father Damien, at a meeting
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Girls on
$estepsof
the
St Elizabeth convent
at Bishop Home in Kahupapa, Molokai
At the Bishop Home, resident cottages and St. Elizabeth convent in Kalaupapa, Molokai, Hawaii, circa 1 900
of
heatth in Flonolulu, Mothet Marianne was officially chosen by the government leadership to be Father Damien's successor at Boy's Home. She set about building up an entirely new home, which the govemment renamed in honot of Henry P. Baldwin, its chief benefactor. After its completion, she suggested that the Brothers of the Congtegation of the Sacted Hearts of Jesus and Mary be invited to wotk at the home. On the day of theit arival in 1895, she withdrerv the sisters who were wotking at Baldwin F{ome under her supervision, to assist her at the needy Bishop Flome for women and girls. BtotherJoseph Dutton, vzho once assisted Father Damien and who later had become her assistan! was placed in
of
ffi v
the board
charge
of Baldwin Flome by the govemment.
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Baldwin Home, circa 1890s
HEROINE OF MOLOKAI Mother Marianfle's treatment of patierrts was far ahead of het time. She nevet fotgot the value of education and thus sponsored ot advocated programs or classes in collabostion
with hospitals in Sytacuse, Honolulu and Kalaupapa. Mindfirl of the need fot beauty, she encouraged an interest in colot harmony, needlework and landscaping. Attentive to spiritual needs, she invited the pastor of St. Fiancis Church in Kalaupapa to provide leligious education to patients in their homes, and non-Catholics were ftee to see theit pastors.
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St. Joseph Hospital Healttr Center, Syracuse, N.Y.
The legac-v of Mother Mar-ianne continues its far-teaching effects in health cate and education in many ways. The Sistets of St. Francis of the Neumann Cornmunities are sponsors of St. Joseph Hospitai Health Cerrtet in Syracuse, N.Y, St. F.lizabeth Medical Center in Utica, N.Y and St. Francis Hospital and Health Centets in Poughkeepsie, N.Y In Flawaii, the sisters are well-known for founding St. Ftancis 'fi Hospital 1927 which expanded into tvro medical centers. Following the transfer of these ceoters to Hawai-i Medical Centet in 2007, the sisters remain sponsors of St. Francis Flealthcare System. Their focus, however, has shifted ftom acute cate to meeting the growing needs of Hasraii's seniot adult population. At Kalaupapa, IMolokai, the sisters maintain theit comforting ptesence with a small group of people with Hansefi's disease who live there today. In addition, the sistets minister at sevetal schools and parishes on the islands.
The story of compassiofiate care brought to others by Mothet Matjznne is her most precious gift. This legacy of caring continues today in the lives and ministries of the
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Among those ministering in Hawaiiloday are from left, Row 1: Sisters Ancilla Yim, Charlene Epil, Rose Fatima Leite, Francts Cabrini Morishige, Laurenza Femandez, Agnelle Ching, and Wlliam Marie Eleniki. From left, Row 2: Sisters Jovita Agustin, Norise Kaiser, Agatha Peneka, and Pat Schofield
Sisters
of
St. Francis.
MOTHER MARIANNE COPE'S JOURNEY TO SAINTHOOD The Sisters of St. Fsncis began collecting materials soon aftet Mothu Marianne's death for her evenrual canonization.
.
October 24,2AO3, theolog"ians, cardinals and bishops at the Congregation for the Causes
of Saints declared het heroically virtuous.
. Apdl 19,2{)O4, PopeJohn Paul II issued the decree officially naming her Venerable. . December 20,2004, after receiving the unanimous affirmation of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, PopeJohn Paul II ordered a decree to be issued authenticating a mimcle attributed to Mother Marianne's intercession.
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May 74,2}Ol,Venerable Madanne Cope was beatified. Another verified mkacle happening after her status of Blessed would lead to het canonization.
. June 1.6,z}ll,Vatican A
is an inexplicable medical tecovery.
Beatification procession in St. Pete/s Basilica
on May 14, 2006
Medical Boatd rules unanimously that a second mitacle case
. . . .
October 8,2011, theologians rule unanimously that the second miracle to the intercession of Blessed Marianne Cope. December 6,2011, the Congregation for Causes for canonization. 2011, Pope Benedict
of
case was due
Saints affirms Blessed Marianne
XVI affitms Blessed Madanne for canonization.
October 2lrZAl2, canonization of Mother Marianne Cope.
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Marianne Cope
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