At the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, the high school students were moved into the new Saint Joseph building, the former Roger Bacon building.

In the entrance to the building, there is an alcove in the wall near the main office with an statue of Saint Joseph holding Jesus Christ.

The statue was purchased by Cotter and, Mrs. Forney, one of Cotter’s art teachers, refurbished and repainted it in 2011. The statue welcomes many visitors to the building, whom often make positive remarks about the statue, enjoying the “prayerful atmosphere” of the area where the statue is displayed.

“I think it is a lovely invitation,”Mrs. DeMarais, executive assistant to the president, said.

Saint Joseph is the patron saint of Cotter and is the protector of Jesus and Mary, and so his prominent position within the main area of the Saint Joseph building is so he may act as a protector of our community as well.

Mrs. DeMarais also shared that Saint Joseph was an inspiration for Sister Judith Schaefer, Cotter’s long time president who oversaw the reconstruction of the building.

It was Sister Judy’s idea, when she was president of Cotter, to include the phrase, “Saint Joseph, pray for us,” at the end of Cotter’s daily prayer. In a way, the statue can be seen as a final great act of Cotter’s former president and will serve as a reminder of Sister Judy for generations of students to come.

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I also wanted to name the new building after St. Joseph because the name – Roger Bacon – though very significant, doesn’t mean much to students today.

— Sister Judy

“I also wanted to name the new building after St. Joseph because the name – Roger Bacon – though very significant, doesn’t mean much to students today,”  Sister Judy said. She explained, just as Mrs. DeMarais had, that the statue of Saint Joseph was meant to act as a protector for our community.