Marianne Cope came to the U.S. from Germany when she was only a year old. She grew up in Utica New York and joined the Sisters of Saint Francis, an order originally founded by America's first male Saint, John Neumann. She was a teacher, then a principal and rose to a top position in the order. She helped found the first two Catholic hospitals in New York, implementing many new ideas such as providing health care to all without prejudice, patient rights and the simple idea of hand washing before and after treating patients.
