One of three children, Francis Cotton was born on September 19, 1895, in Bardstown, Kentucky to Charles and Mary (née Moore) Cotton.[1] After attending St. Meinrad Seminary in St. Meinrad, Indiana, he enrolled in St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland.[1] Cotton then went in 1919 to Washington D.C. to enter the Sulpician Seminary at the Catholic University of America, finishing there in 1920.[1]
Cotton was ordained to the priesthood in Washington for the Diocese of Louisville by Archbishop John Timothy McNicholas on June 17, 1920.[2] After his ordination, Cotton completed his graduate studies at the Pontifical Athenaeum S. Apollinare in Rome.[1] Following his return to Kentucky, the diocese assigned him as a curate at St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral Parish in Bardstown, St. Cecilia Parish in Louisville, Kentucky, and at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Paducah, Kentucky (1922–1926).[1] Cotton was appointed assistant chancellor of the diocese in 1926, then chancellor in 1931.[1][3]
On December 16, 1937, Cotton was appointed the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Owensboro by Pope Pius XI.[2] He received his episcopal consecration at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, Kentucky, on February 24, 1938, from Archbishop John A. Floersh, with Bishops Theodore H. Reverman and Moses E. Kiley serving as co-consecrators.[2][3] After his consecration, Cotton embarked on visits to the parishes in the new diocese. He brought the Catholic Students' Mission Crusade, a national organization for helping the poor, to the diocese.[4]
In early 1940, Cotton began the collection of relief supplies for refugees from World War II in Europe. By 1942, the diocese had collected over $1 million in supplies for distribution in Europe and China.[4] In February 1943, Cotton held a synod in the diocese to set its laws and constitution. Contemporary reports said that Cotton strictly enforced these rules in the diocese, but personally was a kind individual.[4]
Francis Cotton died of a heart attack in Owensboro on September 25, 1960, at age 65.[2][3]
