Jacob Cottet

Home Parish: Holy Cross, DeWitt

In the beginning God gave me wonderful parents, Matthew and Christa, and younger siblings Emma and Nathan. I was born and raised in Syracuse, attending Most Holy Rosary for elementary school and Jamesville-DeWitt for middle and high school. Throughout my youth I played various sports (football being a notable exception), but eventually decided to focus on running cross country and track & field. After high school I studied at Le Moyne college where I received my undergraduate degree. My favorite pastimes include reading, running, sailing, and listening to music.

My patron saint is St. Lawrence, who was a deacon of the Church in Rome in the 200’s. I initially chose him for purely non-spiritual reasons: my family often vacationed on the St. Lawrence River in Northern NY, and I simply liked the name Lawrence. Nevertheless, my choice proved to be providential. Blessed Lawrence’s life deeply influenced my spirituality and vocation. St. Lawrence was unquestionably dedicated to those he served. By his life he showed that material possessions paled in comparison with the treasures of Heaven. He loved and served those entrusted to his care, to the point of giving his life for them. I can only hope that God allows me to imitate my patron as fully as possible. 

Instrumental to my coming to encounter Christ was my parish youth minister during high school. Through his teaching and the witness of the Christian life lived by my peers in our youth group, I was led to the door where Christ was knocking. I realized that Jesus wanted me to give Him all or nothing, and I chose to try to give Him everything. I tried —in ways fruitful and futile—to make Jesus the center of my life. Still, it would be a few more years before I realized that this flame burning within me may be a call to the priesthood. As I immersed myself in the sacramental life of the Church I learned to abide and allow myself to be pruned by Him. Through the end of high school and college, many interior and exterior attachments fell away, and having sorted through increasingly less-superficial desires, Jesus showed me that one of the deepest desires in my heart is to be His priest. 

It is with a grateful heart that I begin my long-anticipated formation here at the Rother House in Emmittsburg, Maryland. God has worked through many people in varied ways in order to bring me here, and I can only hope to someday serve Him and His flock. 

"Labor to conquer yourself. This victory will assure you a brighter crown than that of many victories over others." - St. Ignatius of Loyola