EUROPE/SWITZERLAND – Markus Cott, new director of the Pontifical Mission Societies

Vatican City – on January 23, 2026, Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization , appointed, on January 23, 2026, Mr. Markus Cott, of the Diocese of Chur, as National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Switzerland , for a five-year term 2026-2031.
Markus Cott, 56, is a Swiss citizen originally from Surses/Tinizong . He studied Catholic theology and philosophy at the Theologische Hochschule in Chur , and attended two semesters at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He continued his studies in religious sciences at the Institut Catholique de Paris and obtained an MSc in social policy and planning in developing countries at the London School of Economics . He served as pastoral assistant at the Catholic parish of Wädenswil . At the International Committee of the Red Cross he held the following positions: delegate in Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan ; head of office in Cyangugu in Rwanda , head of sub-delegation in Kunduz , Biratnagar in Nepal , Voinjama in Liberia and in the Somali region of Ethiopia . He was subsequently responsible for communications in Tehran and deputy head of delegation in Kabul . Since December 2012, he has been delegate for integration in the Canton of Schwyz, and since October 2025, he has served as executive director of Missio Switzerland.

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