Meanwhile, the attitude of Cotta had not only angered the French government but caused much resentment against him among the missionary leadership in China. In December 1920 he was recalled from China by his superiors and never allowed to return. In 1922 he withdrew from the Vincentians and joined the Maryknoll Society in the United States. He left a profound influence as a professor at the major seminary in Maryknoll, New York, and as a spiritual director for the seminarians and for the Maryknoll sisters.
Attribution
This article is reprinted from Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, Macmillan Reference USA, copyright (c) 1998 Gerald H. Anderson, by permission of The Gale Group; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. All rights reserved.
Sources
- Raymond J. de Jaegher, "The First Chinese Bishops and Father Cotta," World Mission 6 (1955): 267-277; "Father Anthony Cotta," in Robert E. Sheridan, ed, Profiles of Twelve Maryknollers, (1963), chap. 4; Claude Soetens, ed., Recueil des Archives Vincent Lebbe. Pour l'Eglise chinoise, vol. 1, La Visite apostotique des missions de Chine, 1919-1920 (1982) and vol. 3, L'Encyclique Maximum illud (1983). These two volumes contain many letters from and to Cotta, his memoir to Cardinal Serafini, as well as a detailed analysis of his role as a missionary figure.
