St. Marianne Cope (1838–1918) was a Franciscan sister from Syracuse, New York, who helped found two of the first hospitals in the United States open to everyone regardless of race or religion, and who then spent the last thirty-five years of her life in Hawaii caring for people with leprosy, including St. Damien in his final months. When more than fifty religious congregations had refused the Hawaiian government’s plea for help, she answered, “I am hungry for the work.” She never caught the disease. She was canonized in 2012, and her feast day in the United States is January 23. Below are her story, Scripture, and prayers to St. Marianne Cope.
A short prayer to St. Marianne Cope, written for this page:
St. Marianne, you gave your life to people the world had cast aside.
Pray for the sick and the forgotten, for nurses and caregivers,
and make my heart hungry, like yours, for the work of love. Amen.
Who was St. Marianne Cope?
Barbara Koob (later Cope) was born on January 23, 1838, in Heppenheim, Germany, and came with her family to Utica, New York, as a baby. She worked in a factory to support her family before entering the Sisters of St. Francis in Syracuse in 1862, taking the name Marianne. She taught, became a school principal, and as a superior of her community helped found St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Utica and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, known for caring for anyone in need, including alcoholics and others turned away elsewhere.
In 1883 a letter arrived from Hawaii asking for sisters to care for people with leprosy. Mother Marianne went with six sisters, intending to stay only long enough to set them up, and never returned. She ran a hospital in Honolulu and a home for the daughters of patients, and in 1888 she went to the Kalaupapa settlement on Molokai, where she cared for the dying Fr. Damien and, after his death, took charge of his home for boys as well as a home for women and girls. She brought cleanliness, order, beauty and dignity to the settlement. She died at Kalaupapa on August 9, 1918.
Pope Benedict XVI beatified her in 2005 and canonized her on October 21, 2012, the same day as St. Kateri Tekakwitha and St. Pedro Calungsod.
Scripture
The words of Christ that she lived (Matthew 25:35–36, Douay-Rheims):
For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in:
Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.
What is St. Marianne Cope the patron saint of?
- People with leprosy (Hansen’s disease) and other outcasts
- Nurses, hospitals and caregivers
- Hawaii
Prayers to St. Marianne Cope
Written for this page.
For nurses and caregivers
St. Marianne, you made a home of beauty and order for the sick.
Pray for nurses, aides and caregivers, that they may serve with skill, patience and joy. Amen.
For people with chronic illness
St. Marianne, pray for those who live with illnesses that last for years.
Give them hope, dignity and people who care. Amen.
Feast day
The optional memorial of St. Marianne Cope, virgin, is January 23 in the United States, her birthday.
Frequently asked questions
Did St. Marianne Cope get leprosy?
No. Although she worked among people with leprosy for thirty-five years, she never contracted it.
How is St. Marianne Cope connected to St. Damien?
She cared for Fr. Damien in his last months and took over his work for the boys of Kalaupapa after his death in 1889.
When is St. Marianne Cope’s feast day?
January 23 in the United States.
More saints
- St. Vincent of Saragossa
- St. Damien of Molokai
- Patron saint of nurses
- St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
- St. Kateri Tekakwitha prayer
- Works of mercy
- Saint of the day
Texts and sources
- Matthew 25:35–36 (Douay-Rheims).