The remains of St. Marianne Cope, who cared for thousands of Hansen’s disease patients on Molokai, will return to Hawaii, her religious order announced Thursday.

Sister Margaret Antone Milho, a counselor at Saint Francis School in Manoa who attended St. Marianne’s 2012 canonization ceremony in Rome, said she is thrilled at the news from the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in Syracuse, N.Y.

"I’ve been praying for this for a while," she said. "When they took her away, we had a hard time letting go."

Alika Cullen, administrator of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, said church officials are in the planning stages of constructing a new chapel on the Diamond Head side of the church where the remains will be housed. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in June and will take two years to complete, he said.

"We are just so excited to have her come home," Cullen said.

Plans for the return of the saint’s remains are still in the works, and a date for their arrival has yet to be set.

Since 2005, the remains have been housed in a shrine in Syracuse. Mother Marianne served as administrator of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse before she moved to Hawaii in 1883 to help care for Hansen’s disease patients.

The decision to relocate St. Marianne to Hawaii came when buildings that house the congregation in Syracuse were determined to no longer be structurally sound. The buildings on the campus also include the shrine and museum dedicated to St. Marianne. A new home for the sisters will be built at another location in the city and is expected to be completed next summer.

The congregation in Syracuse said it makes sense to return St. Marianne to her final resting place alongside St. Damien, who also dedicated his life to tend to Hansen’s disease patients on Kalaupapa.

"It is fitting that her remains be laid to rest in Hawaii since St. Marianne spent more than 35 years ministering on the island, especially in Kalaupapa to those afflicted with Hansen’s disease (leprosy)," the congregation said in a news release. "Hawaii is a major destination for people the world over and having St. Marianne’s remains there would ensure a steady stream of pilgrims who would continue to be inspired by her, seek her intercession and imitate her dedication and faith." 

Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva could not be reached for comment.

Mother Marianne died in 1918 at 80. Her remains were unearthed from a grave site in Kalaupapa in 2005. Exhumation is required in the sainthood canonization process.

Milho was one of the sisters who witnessed the exhumation conducted by archaeologists. "I was hanging on to a tree so I could see," she recalled.

Also, Milho collected some dirt brushed from the grave site during the exhumation.

"She did so much for so many people," said Milho, who stores the dirt in a small clear bottle next to the saint’s picture in her bedroom.

Sister Alicia Damien Lau, who serves as the mission advancement liaison in Hawaii for the congregation, said she is glad to hear the saint’s remains will be returned.

"There’s a lot of pilgrims that are coming, not only for St. Marianne but also for St. Damien," said Lau, who also attended St. Marianne’s canonization ceremony. "It seems like the most appropriate and most sacred place for her to be at."

St. Marianne administered a facility in Kakaako for patients, opened a hospital on Maui as well as a Kapiolani home for children of Hansen’s disease patients before she and six other sisters arrived in Kalaupapa. Nearly 8,000 people were quarantined to the island before drugs were developed to treat the disease.

The sisters took over operation of the infirmary in 1888. Neither St. Marianne nor the six other sisters contracted the disease.

St. Damien de Veuster arrived in Hawaii in 1864 to join other missionaries of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He later began tending to Hansens’ disease patients in Kalaupapa. He died in 1889 at 49 after contracting the disease.

The Hansen’s disease quarantine was lifted in 1969. Sixteen patients still reside in Kalaupapa, according to the state Department of Health.