Fr. Francis Xavier Cotter of the Child of Mary was born  in Boston, Massachusetts to parents Francis and Dorothy Cotter. Fr. Cotter served in the U.S. Army from 1964-1967 as a military intelligence coordinator. He attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. From 1977 until the time of his entrance into the Discalced Carmelite Order, he was director of rehabilitation for the Sheriff’s Department of Franklin County, Massachusetts. During his priestly ministry, Father was a member of the Carmelite communities of Washington, DC; Elmira, New York; Peterborough, New Hampshire and Holy Hill, Hubertus, Wisconsin. For his last ten years, he served as chaplain to the Discalced Carmelite Nuns in Denmark, Wisconsin. Father Cotter died on March 18, 2008 and is buried at the Carmelite Cemetery, Hubertus, Wisconsin.