marianist.com/donate  •  11
blends into the soil, but when you see it under 
the microscope, you can really tell the difference 
between soil and the bone.”  
After the relics are carefully prepared and 
placed in vials, Diocese of Honolulu Bishop Larry 
Silva will distribute them to Catholic parishes 
on each main Hawaiian island, according to 
Gutiérrez Ayala. He anticipates the entire process 
will be completed by the end of this year.  
Casarrubias, who was raised Catholic, said 
she enjoyed learning more about Saint Marianne 
during the project. “I think her work took a lot 
of dedication,” she said, describing the sister as 
a “strong individual.”  
She admires the saint for remaining in 
Hawai‘i to continue her work with leprosy  
patients, even though she had planned to stay 
for only a short time. “She understood how 
she was impacting all of those patients,”  
she said.  
Casarrubias, who plans a career in forensic 
anthropology, hopes to present the project during 
the American Academy of Forensic Sciences 
annual scientific conference in Orlando in  
February 2027.  
She described helping with the project as 
“very meaningful work. It will help bring more 
exposure, not just to her, but the work being 
done in the forensics field.”  
Rosales, a junior at Chaminade, said she’s still 
deciding her career path, but she definitely has 
an interest in anthropology. This project “shows 
how forensic science can help” communities, 
she said.  
Gutiérrez Ayala, who called Saint Marianne 
a “superhero,” described the forensic search for 
her relics as “totally rewarding.” 
“It was a unique opportunity to mix science 
and religion,” he said. “We feel blessed.”  ■ 
 
Jamie Forsythe is a writer from Springfield, Mis­
From left, Chaminade  
University forensic students 
Emma Rosales and  
Samantha Casarrubias 
conducted the search for 
Saint Marianne Cope’s  
relics under the guidance 
of Carlos Gutiérrez Ayala, 
director of Chaminade’s 
Forensic Sciences Depart­
ment, and Vincent Sava,  
a forensic anthropologist.
Original burial site of Saint 
Marianne at Kalaupapa,  
on the Hawaiian island  
of Moloka‘i.
PHOTO: NATIONAL PARKS GALLERY, PUBLIC DOMAIN
TO LEARN MORE  
about the forensic 
program at Chami­
nade University of 
Honolulu, visit  
chaminade.edu/nsm
/forensic-sciences.

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