A planned statue of Mother Marianne Cope looking across the ocean toward Moloka'i, where she ministered to the Hansen's disease patients of Kalaupapa, has passed an important step on its way to becoming a memorial at Kaka'ako Waterfront Park.

She's the first woman with Hawai'i ties to be beatified, and now is on the path to sainthood. But why a monument in Kaka'ako?

The Hawai'i Community Development Authority requires that any group that wants to erect a monument at the park establish a connection between the subject and the place, said Anthony Ching, the authority's executive director.

Mother Marianne certainly had that: The nun from Syracuse, N.Y., who came here as a member of the Sisters of St. Francis, was stationed at the Kaka'ako Branch Hospital, a receiving center for Hansen's disease patients, he said.

The receiving center was probably across the street from the mudflats that were later used as a garbage dump and eventually became Kaka'ako Waterfront Park.

Organizations seeking a monument must commit to its ongoing maintenance, Ching said, and the Sisters of St. Francis have agreed to that.

Mother Marianne's statue will join memorials for the Ehime Maru and Mothers Against Drunk Driving in the park.

Research turned up a detail that clearly delighted Ching: Mother Marianne used to cast a line into the water off the point.

"I imagine her fishing," said Ching, who was raised Catholic. "I can just imagine her out there in her robes, with a pail, casting out."

The slightly larger-than-life bronze statue is being commissioned from Sister Rosaire Kopczenski, who said she'll depict Mother Marianne with "one hand reaching out, the other almost on her breast."

The outstretched arm with its hand in a hula pose symbolizes that "the power, the goodness" within Mother Marianne was offered in the service of others, said Kopczenski. She then quoted Mother Marianne's words: "I am hungry for this work."

Kopczenski said the placement of the other arm, almost fluttering near her collar, signifies Cope's empathy.

"I hope her hands will have that meaning, facing Moloka'i," said, Kopczenski.

Though Mother Marianne was "a little woman, about 5 feet," Kopczenski said, "I look at her, and I say she has power beyond her size."

That's why she's setting the statue at 6 feet. It also fits with the scale of the location, next to a tree. A robed Mother Marianne likely will be stepping forward in a big stride, with her head held high, facing the ocean.

"You don't turn your back on the ocean," said Kopczenski, an artist based in Pittsburgh.

Kopczenski has been in Hawai'i since Oct. 1 researching her subject, including visiting a hospital site on Maui where Mother Marianne also served. And Kopczenski spent an emotional day at Kalaupapa, where 8,000 Hansen's disease patients have died.

"It was a very deep, spiritual experience," she said, her voice thick with tears. "I felt the presence of God himself. The land is sacred. It's overwhelming."

She expects to have the statue finished within two years.