Since its foundation the Military and Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of
Jerusalem has had a special care for those suffering from leprosy. Indeed it began
by welcoming knights from other Orders who had been stricken by this
disease. Those suffering from leprosy, or Hanson's Disease as it is now
known, have always been at the heart of the mission and prayers of the
Order. The Order is overjoyed that the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, will tomorrow raise to the Altars Mother Marriane Cope, a woman beloved in Hawaii and known as “Mother of the Outcasts” for her work among the sick, declaring her a Saint. Her Canonisation comes nearly a
century after Mother Marianne's 1918 death at Kalaupapa, an isolated
peninsula on Molokai Island where Hawaii governments forcibly exiled
leprosy patients for decades.
missionary to leprosy patients
Barbara Koob (now officially "Cope") was born on 23 January
1838 in SE Hessen, West Germany. She was one of 10 children born to
Peter Koob, a farmer, and Barbara Witzenbacher Koob. The year after
Barbara's birth, the family moved to the United States.
The Koob family found a home in Utica, in the State of
New York, where they became members of St Joseph's Parish and where the
children attended the parish school.
Sisters of St Francis
Although Barbara felt called to Religious life at an
early age, her vocation was delayed for nine years because of family
obligations. As the oldest child at home, she went to work in a factory
after completing eighth grade in order to support her family when her
father became ill.
Finally, in the summer of 1862 at age 24, Barbara
entered the Sisters of St Francis in Syracuse, N.Y. On 19 November 1862
she received the religious habit and the name "Sr Marianne", and the
following year she made her religious profession and began serving as a
teacher and principal in several elementary schools in New York State.
She joined the Order in Syracuse with the intention of
teaching, but her life soon became a series of administrative
appointments.
God had other plans
As a member of the governing boards of her Religious
Community in the 1860s, she participated in the establishment of two of
the first hospitals in the central New York area.
In 1870, she began a new ministry as a
nurse-administrator at St Joseph's in Syracuse, N.Y., where she served
as head administrator for six years. During this time she put her gifts
of intelligence and people skills to good use as a facilitator,
demonstrating the energy of a woman motivated by God alone.
Although Mother Marianne was often criticized for
accepting for treatment "outcast" patients such as alcoholics, she
became well-known and loved in the central New York area for her
kindness, wisdom and down-to-earth practicality.
In 1883, Mother Marianne, now the Provincial Mother in
Syracuse, received a letter from a Catholic priest asking for help in
managing hospitals and schools in the Hawaiian Islands, and mainly to
work with leprosy patients. The letter touched Mother Marianne's heart
and she enthusiastically responded: "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'".
 |
| Children and adults stand outside Father Damien's church in the late 19th century when around 600 sufferers were shipped to the island |
A mother to the lepers
She and six other Sisters of St Francis arrived in
Honolulu in November 1883. With Mother Marianne as supervisor, their
main task was to manage the Kaka'ako Branch Hospital on Oahu, which
served as a receiving station for patients with Hansen's disease
gathered from all over the islands.
The Sisters quickly set to work cleaning the hospital
and tending to its 200 patients. By 1885, they had made major
improvements to the living conditions and treatment of the patients.
In November of that year, they also founded the
Kapi'olani Home inside the hospital compound, established to care for
the healthy daughters of Hansen's disease patients at Kaka'ako and
Kalawao. The unusual decision to open a home for healthy children on
leprosy hospital premises was made because only the Sisters would care
for those so closely related to people with the dreaded disease.
St. Damien and Mother Marianne
Mother Marianne met Fr Damien de Veuster (today Saint Damien is known as the "Apostle to Lepers") for the first time
in January 1884, when he was in apparent good health. Two years later,
in 1886, after he had been diagnosed with Hansen's disease, Mother
Marianne alone gave hospitality to the outcast priest upon hearing that
his illness made him an unwelcome visitor to Church and Government
leaders in Honolulu.
In 1887, when a new Government took charge in Hawaii,
its officials decided to close the Oahu Hospital and receiving station
and to reinforce the former alienation policy. The unanswered question:
Who would care for the sick, who once again would be sent to a
settlement for exiles on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the island of
Molokai?
In 1888, Mother Marianne again responded to the plea
for help and said: "We will cheerfully accept the work...". She
arrived in Kalaupapa several months before Fr Damien's death together
with Sr Leopoldina Burns and Sr Vincentia McCormick, and was able to
console the ailing priest by assuring him that she would provide care
for the patients at the Boys' Home at Kalawao that he had founded.
Optimism, serenity, trust in God
Together the three Sisters ran the Bishop Home for 103
Girls and the Home for Boys. The workload was extreme and the burden at
times seemed overwhelming. In moments of despair, Sr Leopoldina
reflected: "How long, O Lord, must I see only those who are sick and
covered with leprosy?".
Mother Marianne's invaluable example of never-failing
optimism, serenity and trust in God inspired hope in those around her
and allayed the Sisters' fear of catching leprosy. She taught her
Sisters that their primary duty was "to make life as pleasant and as
comfortable as possible for those of our fellow creatures whom God has
chosen to afflict with this terrible disease...".
Awarded the Royal Order of
Kapiolani by the Hawaiian government and celebrated in a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mother Marianne continued her work faithfully. Her
sisters have attracted vocations among the Hawaiian people and still
work on Molokai.
Mother Marianne never returned to Syracuse. She died
in Hawaii on 9 August 1918 of natural causes and was buried on the
grounds of Bishop Home.
Mother Marianne’s generosity and courage were celebrated at her May
14, 2005, beatification in Rome. She was a woman who spoke “the language
of truth and love” to the world, said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins,
prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. Cardinal Martins, who
presided at the beatification Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, called her
life “a wonderful work of divine grace.” Speaking of her special love
for persons suffering from leprosy, he said, “She saw in them the
suffering face of Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan, she became their
mother.”
Mother Marianne died on August 9, 1918 and was beatified in 2005 and is now to join the glorious ranks of canonized Saints.
Prayer to
St. Marianne Cope
Lord Jesus, you who gave us your commandment of love of God and
neighbour, and identified yourself in a special way with the most needy
of your people, hear our prayer. Faithful to your teaching, St. Marianne
Cope loved and served her neighbor, especially the most desolate
outcast, giving herself generously and heroically for those afflicted by
leprosy. She alleviated their physical and spiritual sufferings, thus
helping them to accept their afflictions with patience. Her care and
concern for others manifested the great love you have for us. Through
her merits and intercession, grant us the favor which we confidently
ask of you so that the people of God, following the inspiration of her
life and apostolate, may practice charity towards all according to your
word and example. Amen.
Through the intercession of St. Marianne Cope, I ask for the grace of (mention your request).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be..
St Marriane of Molokai pray for us and for the Order of St Lazarus
St Damien of Molokai pray for us and for the Order of St Lazarus
