Mother Marianne Cope To Have Street Renamed In Her Honor

Mother Marianne Cope will soon have a street named after her.

The Utica Common Council voted unanimously to rename the portion of Varick Street between Columbia and Lafayette Streets "St. Marianne Way." The street is located in front of the current Mother Marianne's West Side Soup Kitchen, which is on the grounds of St. Joseph's and St. Patrick's Church.

Prior to the vote, several councilors spoke out in support of the ordinance, calling it a great way to honor someone so important to the community.

Cope was born in West Germany in 1838, but later emigrated to the United States and moved to Utica, where she was instrumental in establishing St. Elizabeth Hospital.

She later left for Hawaii in 1883, with six other Sisters of St. Francis, to care for those with Hansen's disease.

Mother Marianne, who died in 1918, was canonized last October during a ceremony performed by Pope Benedict XVI.