Saint Marianne Cope: A Model of Bravery and Action

Among the many wonderful Saints we honor in the month of January is Saint Marianne Cope, whose feast is January 23, and who was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in October 2012. Mother Marianne Cope was a twice-elected superior in her Order, the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. She was an accomplished hospital administrator and a leader of women and men who led by perfect, charitable example. 
 
Fifty religious communities of women had already refused invitations to go to Hawaii to minister to those living with Hansen's (later identified as Leprosy) disease. However, Mother Marianne accepted the call to service for her community with a resounding yes, not only for her Sisters, but making the long journey herself to undertake the work in October 1883. Mother Marianne and six other sisters operated a Receiving Station outside Honolulu; on the island of Maui they also opened a hospital and a school for girls. In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for "unprotected women and girls" and soon took charge of the home that Saint Damien de Veuster had established for men and boys. She was fearless and determined, and challenged the Hawaiian government to afford her what she needed to make resounding changes in the way people with Hansen's disease were treated. Later, the King of Hawaii awarded Mother Marianne with the Cross of a Companion of the Royal Order of Kapiolani for her care of his people. 

The space here does not allow for the many important details which led to the Sainthood of Mother Marianne. She is the perfect model for us as we begin the New Year as an inspiration not only to move from our comfortable positions and warm homes to the places where we are needed to volunteer, but to go steps beyond and to see each person as the perfect image of God, even when the horrors of life disguise them otherwise. Mother Marianne never flinched when it came to doing what was needed. She didn't rest comfortably in her positions, but rolled up her sleeves and took to the hard work of caring for and assisting God's holy people wherever and however she encountered them. Neither should we.

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