Honolulu — The remains of a saint known for caring for exiled leprosy patients will be returning to Hawaii.
St. Marianne's remains will be moved from Syracuse, N.Y., to Our Lady of Peace Cathedral in downtown Honolulu.
Marianne Cope died in 1918 at Kalaupapa, the island of Molokai's isolated peninsula where leprosy patients were exiled for decades. Her remains were exhumed in 2005 and taken to Syracuse, her hometown.
Her order, the Syracuse-based Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, announced relocation plans for the remains Thursday.
The move is necessary because the buildings of the campus where the remains are housed no longer are structurally sound. The sisters say it makes sense to return Marianne to Hawaii, where she spent 35 years.