Body of Mother Marianne Cope to be exhumed, placed in shrine

Published: 2004-11-30

HONOLULU (CNS) -- Mother Marianne Cope is going back home. As required for her anticipated beatification, the body of the revered Sister of St. Francis who ministered to people with leprosy, or Hansen's disease as it is now called, will be exhumed early next year. After her body is removed from its resting place in Kalaupapa, Molokai, it will be transported to a permanent shrine at the Franciscan motherhouse in Syracuse, N.Y., which she left 122 years ago. "Respectful of all that Mother Marianne means to the people of Hawaii, we have made the decision to bring Mother Marianne's remains to Syracuse, where she will be honored as a daughter of the church of Hawaii and of Syracuse," said a statement issued by the Franciscan Sisters' leadership team. Mother Marianne and six Franciscan Sisters arrived in Hawaii on Nov. 8, 1883, in response to a plea for the Hawaiian government to care for leprosy patients in Honolulu.

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