Marianne Cope

Saint Marianne Cope
Marianne Cope shortly before her departure for Hawaii (1883)
Virgin, Religious, Missionary to lepers
Born	Maria Anna Barbara Koob (1838-01-23)January 23, 1838 Heppenheim, Grand Duchy of Hesse
Died	August 9, 1918(1918-08-09) (aged 80) Kalaupapa, Hawaiʻi
Resting place	Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, Honolulu, Hawaii
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church (Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities) Episcopal Church
Beatified	May 14, 2005, Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI
Canonized	October 21, 2012, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI
Major shrine	Saint Marianne Cope Shrine & Museum 601 N. Townsend St. Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Feast	January 23 (Roman Catholic Church) April 15 (Episcopal Church (United States))
Patronage	Lepers, outcasts, those with HIV/AIDS, Hawaiʻi.

Marianne Cope OSF, also known as Saint Marianne of Molokaʻi, (January 23, 1838 – August 9, 1918) was a German-born American nun who was a member of the Sisters of St Francis of Syracuse, New York and administrator of its St. Joseph's Hospital in the city. Known also for her charitable works, in 1883 she relocated with six other Sisters to Hawaiʻi to care for persons suffering Hansen's Disease on the island of Molokaʻi and aid in developing the medical infrastructure in Hawaiʻi. Despite direct contact with the patients over many years, Cope did not contract the disease.

In 2005 Cope was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI. Cope was declared a saint by the same pope on October 21, 2012, along with Kateri Tekakwitha, a 17th-century Native American. Cope is the 11th person in what is now the United States to be canonized by the Catholic Church.

Cope was baptized Maria Anna Barbara Koob, later anglicizing her last name to "Cope". She was born January 23, 1838, in Heppenheim in the Grand Duchy of Hesse to Peter Koob (1787–1862) and Barbara Witzenbacher (1803–1872). The following year her family emigrated to the United States, settling in the industrial city of Utica, New York. They became members of the Parish of St Joseph, where Cope attended parish school. By the time she was in eighth grade, her father had become an invalid. As the oldest child, Cope left school to work in a textile factory to help support her family. Her father became naturalized as an American citizen, which at the time meant the entire family received automatic citizenship status.