Mary Leopoldina Burns (August 28, 1856 – June 3, 1942), was an American religious sister who was a member of the Sisters of St Francis of Syracuse, New York, and a close companion and biographer of Saint Marianne Cope during the 1883 Hansen's Disease epidemic on the island of

Molokaʻi Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length and width with a us ...

, Hawaii. Born on August 28, 1856, she was the daughter of James and Mary Burns, of Utica, New York. She joined the Sisters of St Francis of Syracuse, New York in 1881. Together with Mother Marianne Cope and 5 other sisters, they departed from Syracuse to travel to Honolulu to answer the request of King Kalākaua of Hawaii to care for leprosy sufferers arriving on November 8, 1883. They traveled on the SS ''Mariposa''. With Mother Marianne as supervisor, the Sisters' task was to manage Kakaʻako Branch Hospital on

Oʻahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O’ ...

, which served as a receiving station for Hansen's disease patients gathered from all over the islands. The more severe cases were processed and shipped to the island of Molokaʻi for confinement in the settlement at

Kalawao Kalawao () is a location on the eastern side of the Kalaupapa Peninsula of the island of Molokai, in Hawaii, which was the site of Hawaii's leper colony between 1866 and the early 20th century. Thousands of people in total came to the island to l ...

, and then later at

Kalaupapa Kalaupapa () is a small Unincorporated area, unincorporated community on the Hawaiian Islands, island of Molokai, Molokai, within Kalawao County, Hawaii, Kalawao County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1866, during the reign of Kamehameha V, ...

. In 1889, together with Mother Marianne and Sister Vincentia McCormick, they opened and ran a girls' school in Hawaii, which they named in Henry Perrine Baldwin's honor, a prominent local businessman who supported their missions. After serving for nearly 40 years on Molokai, she retired in 1928 to the St. Francis Convent in Manoa Valley where she lived until her death.Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Honolulu, Hawaii) 03 Jun 1942
/ref> Sister Leopoldina died on June 3, 1942 with the reputation for holiness. She was the last of the Catholic sisters to serve alongside Father Damien.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, Leopoldina 1856 births 1942 deaths Third Order Regular Franciscans 19th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Female Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Hawaii People from Kalawao County, Hawaii American Roman Catholic missionaries People from Molokai 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns People from Utica, New York Catholics from New York (state) Catholics from Hawaii Educators from New York (state) American women educators