7 QT: The Saint, the March, and the Book

1. The saint of the day is St. Marianne Cope (1838-1918), a Sister of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, who was canonized Oct. 21, 2012. She is the first Franciscan woman from North American to be canonized, and only the 11th American saint.

She was one of ten children born to a German farm family who immigrated to upstate New York. She entered the Sisters of St. Francis at the age of twenty-four and the following year made her religious profession. She served as a teacher and principal in several elementary schools in New York State, a task which she had intended to do for the rest of her life, but God had other plans, At the age of 32, 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.

In 1877, she was elected Mother Provincal, when she received a request from the Sandwich Islands to send sisters to care for the sick. At the age of forty-six, Mother Marianne traveled to Hawaii with six other Franciscan Sisters, to serve those suffering from leprosy. Their immediate task was to manage  the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu and they made major improvements to the living conditions and treatment of the patients there. They also opened a hospital and a school for girls. Mother Marianne ran the Bishop Home, and until 1895, managed the Home for Boys at Kalawao, founded by Father Damien for boys and young men.

She died in 1918 at the age of 80 and was buried on the grounds of Bishop Home. Her remains were returned to Syracuse in 2005. She was beatified in 2005 and canonized just seven years later.

A woman of great charity, compassion, and courage, this beloved mother of outcasts, devoted 35 years to caring for those afflicted with Hansen’s disease on Kalaupapa, Molokai, Hawaii.

- by Jean M. Heimann

2.   The March for Life in Washington D.C. -- Did you know that there were an estimated half-million participants in our nation's capitol on January 23, 2015, protesting abortion and celebrating the gift of life? That estmate blows me away! It lifts me up at the same time!

3. This is what I was doing on the day of the March -- Not all of it, of course just some of it.

4.  I have also been doing radio and podcast interviews for my book lately, like this one.

5. I continue to work-out daily to stay healthy. As a writer and a blogger, this is essential!

6.  Here is Tony Agnesi's review of my book, Seven Saints for Seven Virtues.

7.  Fellow Blogger, Catholic Wife, Mother of Six, Lawyer, Journalist, Pre-Cana instructor, and Speaker Karee Santos has added Seven Saints for Seven Virtues to this list.  Thank you, Karee!

Have a great weekend! 

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