Joseph Bernard Cotter

The Most Reverend Joseph Bernard Cotter
Bishop of Winona-Rochester
Archdiocese	Saint Paul
Diocese	Winona-Rochester
Appointed	November 15, 1889
Successor	Patrick Richard Heffron
Orders
Ordination	May 21, 1870
Consecration	December 27, 1889
Personal details
Born	(1844-11-19)November 19, 1844 England
Died	June 27, 1909(1909-06-27) (aged 64)

Joseph Bernard Cotter (November 19, 1844 – June 27, 1909) was the first Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, in Winona, Minnesota.^[1]

Early Years[]

Cotter was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Lawrence Cotter and Ann (Perrin) Cotter. His father was a native of Ross Castle, County Kerry, Ireland. His mother was born in Liverpool. In 1849, the Cotter family emigrated and settled for a short time in New York. They moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and remained in that city until 1855. Mrs. Cotter died during their residence in Cleveland. In 1855, Mr. Cotter came to St. Paul, and spent the rest of his days in that city.

The future bishop of Winona received his elementary education at private academies in Cleveland and Fremont, Ohio. Bishop Cretin of St. Paul had discerned in Joseph Cotter evidences of an aptitude for the priestly calling. But, before he could carry out his plans with regard to Cotter, the saintly Bishop was summoned to his eternal reward. Bishop Grace confirmed the judgment of his predecessor when he sent the young student to St. Francis Seminary near Milwaukee in September 1864. The following year, Cotter was sent to St. Vincent's College, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, and he remained for three years in that institution. In 1868, he was recalled to Minnesota and became a student of theology in St. John's, Collegeville. In the Cathedral, on May 3, 1871, Bishop Grace conferred on him the minor orders. On Sunday, May 7, he received sub-deaconship. He was ordained deacon on Sunday, May 14, and on Sunday, May 21, Reverend Joseph Cotter, Reverend John Mullins, and Reverend Ignatius Barsez were raised to the dignity of the priesthood. Fr. Cotter celebrated his first Mass on the feast of Pentecost at St. Mary Church, Minneapolis.

Bishop[]

On November 15, 1889, Pope Leo XIII appointed Cotter the first bishop of the Winona Diocese. On December 27, 1889, he was consecrated. In his sermon, Archbishop Ireland, drawing upon the meaning of the Dakota word Winona, "eldest daughter", referred to the city as the first-born daughter of the Diocese of St. Paul. The Archbishop told the assembly that his own hopes for the future of this new diocese were built on the judgment, prudence, zeal, and untiring energy of its new bishop.

In the weeks that followed the ceremonial installation, Bishop Cotter began his work as bishop of Winona. His appearances, however, often turned into public celebrations honoring his elevation to bishop. When he traveled to Wabasha for a confirmation class, he was greeted by a crowd at the station and a parade of over 800 people accompanied him to the church for the service. A week later, he visited Rochester and spent much of the day with clergy of the area. He visited the academy, the new hospital, and the asylum for the insane. In the evening, the bishop and his clergy were honored by the school children of Rochester. He thanked the children for the lesson their program game him and remarked that he was not surprised to find so much culture in Rochester, calling the city one of the gems in the crown of the Winona Diocese. In the next few months, Bishop Cotter traveled throughout southern Minnesota, greeting the people in his new diocese. His travels took him across the state from the Mississippi River to the South Dakota border. During this period, he started to organize an administration that would enable him to serve a rural diocese that encompassed prairies, farms, hamlets, villages, and towns. In the entire area, there was only one city that had a population of over 10,000 people.

He baptized, confirmed, ordained, shared the Eucharist, and gave hope to the sick. He comforted the strangers and aliens. He buried the dead and consoled the survivors. The human duties required him to seek justice for the aggrieved, to reconcile the intransigent, and the uplift those who were despaired. The duty to lead required him to hold together and to unify, direct, and protect a flock which was spread over an area approximately 12,000 square miles.

By the turn of the century, the Diocese of Winona was securely established and its bishop was recognized as a civic, as well as religious, leader. Both the church and the community had celebrated Bishop Cotter's silver jubilee as a priest in 1896 with addresses and receptions. Characteristically, the bishop claimed that the credit for the expansion of the church in the city and the diocese was due to the priests and the people who had worked with him to advance religion in the diocese.

Illness and Death[]

Before long, Bishop Cotter's health, which had not been good since serious surgery several years earlier, began to fail. Physicians diagnosed a heart condition, but the bishop maintained his heavy schedule of confirmations, dedications, and other official ceremonies. In the spring of 1909, following his physicians' advice, he traveled to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to rest in a milder climate. His condition worsened, and realizing he was nearing death, he returned home to die among family and friends. Bishop Cotter lingered on in poor health for a few months during which he visited with old friends and associates. On Sunday, June 27, 1909, Bishop Cotter died at the age of 64.

Legacy[]

A newspaper editorial mourning Bishop Cotter's death pointed out that "he left behind him a monument...the Diocese of Winona." In 1889, when Bishop Cotter became the first bishop, the new diocese included 45 priests, eight churches, 15 parochial schools, and two hospitals. Approximately 38,000 Catholics resided in the diocese. Twenty years later, at the time of Bishop Cotter's death, the diocese consisted of 90 priests; 135 parishes, missions, or chapels; 30 parochial schools, three hospitals, and an orphanage. In 1909, there were approximately 49,000 Catholics in the diocese.

The structure Bishop Cotter had created to serve the people of the rapidly growing church in his far-flung diocese was impressive. The Catholic Church in southern Minnesota had successfully passed through its formative stage into a mature institution. While the church still bore many of its "immigrant church" characteristics, the church and its people were no longer second-class citizens. The positive perception of the Catholic Church in the region was due at least in part to the confidence and good-will Bishop Cotter had built in the secular as well as in the religious society of southern Minnesota.

Bishop Cotter was genuinely liked and admired. The sentiments of grief and loss at his death were not pro forma dutiful statements. A bishop of the church, he nonetheless had been at home among the people and had been revered by them. He had preferred people to call him Father Cotter instead of the more formal Bishop Cotter, and when he rode the streetcars, which he did quite often, he visited with the other riders and chatted with them about the commonplace events of the day. He was known for his genuine interest in people, which he sometimes expressed in simple letters of concern. Almost 30 years after Bishop Cotter's death, Father John Sherman of Winona wrote, "His memory lives in the respect and affection of a devoted people... He was a genuine ambassador of Christ and the good he did lives after him."^[2]

Cotter High School, in Winona, was named in his memory.^[3]

Notes[]