Hawaiian Pilgrims Visit Utica on the Road to Rome

The Parish of St. Joseph & St. Patrick is proud to announce the reception of the Hawaiian delegation to the canonizations of Sts. Marianne and  Kateri Tekakwitha this Sunday, October 14 . The members of the delegation including the Most Reverend Larry Silvia, Bishop of Honolulu, will arrive in Utica from Syracuse, between the Sunday Masses for a 9:00 AM Prayer Service at the church, the home parish of St. Marianne Cope.

From there the group will make its way to the recently secured site of the Schuyler Street home of the Utica Saint, the former Barbara Koob, to lay a wreath to honor this valiant woman.

In 1883 Mother Marianne, as she was then known, answered a desperate call to travel to what was then called the Sandwich Islands, to tend to the needs of the outcast Lepers. Leprosy is now known as Hansen’s Disease and is now effectively treated with antibiotics.

St. Marianne left with 6 other sister nuns to care for the native population which had been decimated by the disease for which they had no immunity. Nine members of the remaining colony will come to Utica on their way to Rome to pay homage to this brave nun who gave up her home to bring comfort and safety to a dangerous and distant land.

The party will then travel to St. Elizabeth Medical Center, of which St. Marianne was a founder, then to St. Joseph Cemetery and St. John’s Church, where she received the sacraments of Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation.

The contingent of nuns, priests and the faithful will then tour St. Joseph & St. Patrick Church followed a luncheon at the Mother Marianne Westside Kitchen, located in the former St. Joseph School, before returning to St. Anthony’s Convent and Motherhouse in Syracuse.

News teams from all major networks are traveling with the delegation to chronicle their pilgrimage to Rome with stops in Utica and Syracuse to note this special occasion.

By C. Harris-Lockwood