Mother Marianne Cope, the Franciscan Sister of Syracuse who died in 1918 after spending 35 years of her life serving the victims of Hansen’s disease in Hawaii, crossed a crucial milestone on the road to canonization this week.

Approximately 20 cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints were expected to vote Jan. 13 on the recommendation that the Franciscan sister who followed in the footsteps of Blessed Damien of Molokai receive the title of “venerable,” the first of three final steps toward sainthood.

If the vote is favorable, Pope John Paul II is expected to declare Mother Marianne venerable around Easter time, according to the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse.

The vote by the cardinals and bishops was preceded by the unanimous decision last October by the historians and theologians of Vatican congregation to affirm Mother Marianne’s heroic virtue.

Once named venerable, Mother Marianne will be eligible for beatification.

An alleged miracle required for beatification has already been documented, according to Sister William Marie Eleniki, regional administrator of the Franciscan Sisters in Hawaii.

An additional miracle would be required for canonization.

Mother Marianne arrived in Honolulu in November 1883 at age 45 with six other Franciscan Sisters to manage KakaakoBranchHospital for Hansen’s disease patients in Honolulu. After work in Honolulu and on Maui, where she established MalulaniHospital, she arrived in Kalaupapa, Molokai, on Nov. 14, 1888, five months before the death of Father Damien.

Mother Marianne became the settlement’s guiding force, considering it her duty to, in her words, “make life as pleasant and as comfortable as possible for those of our fellow creatures whom God has chosen to afflict with this terrible disease.”

She died on Aug. 9, 1918, at age 80 and is buried in Kalaupapa.