Father Jordan and his practice of virtue






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Father Jordan
and

His Practice of Virtue
by

Father Winfrid Herbst, S. D. S.

Father Francis Jordan founded
the Society of the Divine Savior in 1881
and the Congregation of the Sisters of the

Divine Savior in 1888.

Published by
Society of the Divine Savior

St. Nazianz, Wisconsin



Imprimi Potest:

JEROME JACOBS, S.D.S.
Superior Provincialis

Nihil Obstat:

NICOLAUS L. GROSS
Censor Librorum

Imprimatur:

* STANISLAUS V. BONA
Episcopus Sinus Viridis

Green Bay, Wisconsin
August 13, 1948

Eessfdled
II



FOREWORD

The sketch of the life of Father Francis
of the Cross Jordan here offered to the
public under the title Father Jordan and His
Practice of Virtue is a presentation in bio-

graphical form of the various facts given in
the "Articles" required by the Ecclesiasti-
cal Tribunal in the informative process for
the cause of the beatification and canoni-
zation of the Founder and first Superior
General of the Society of the Divine Sav-
ior, and the Founder of the Congregation
of the Sisters of the Divine Savior.

All credit for the collection and presen-
tation of those facts goes to the Very Rev-
erend Dorotheus Brugger, S.D.S., Postula-
tor of the Cause, who devoted himself
whole-heartedly to that laborious task.

But at the same time much credit goes
to the Reverend Heribert Winkler, S.D.S.,
for his scholarly translation of the "Arti-

cles" into English.

All that then remained for me to do was
to rewrite and rearrange the matter thus
placed at my disposal, adding a bit here
and there, occasionally omitting irrelevant
matter. Perhaps it would be better to say
that mine was merely the task of re-
strained editing.

Inasmuch as Father Jordan was born

III



June 16, 1848, this year is the centenary
of the birth of our Venerable Father and
Founder. It is, accordingly, a fitting time
in which to send out this little book on its
mission of edification in the spirit of Father
Jordan, for God

#

s glory, Mary's exaltation,
and man's salvation.

Father Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S.

Salvatorian Seminary
St. Nazianz, Wisconsin
Easter, 1948

IV



‘Declaration

In complete conformity with the de-
crees of Urban VIII we hereby declare
that everything said in this book regarding
the miraculous and such like manifesta-
tions is submitted without reserve to the
judgment of Holy Church. The expres-
sions such as "holy" or "saint" in so far
as they are applied to the subject of this
biography, are not in any way intended
to anticipate the judgment of the Holy
Apostolic See.

V



CONTENTS

Foreword Ill

Declaration V

Introducing Father Jordan ... VII

Chapter 1 — Birth and Boyhood 1
Chapter 2 — Higher Education and Priesthood

_ _
4

Chapter 3 — Apostolic Teaching Society 8
Chapter 4 — Society of the Divine Savior 11
Chapter 5 — Father Jordan's Faith 17
Chapter 6 — Father Jordan's Hope 31
Chapter 7 — Father Jordan's Love of God 35
Chapter 8 — Father Jordan's Love of Neighbor .. 39
Chapter 9 — Father Jordan's Prudence 46
Chapter 10 — Father Jordan's Justice 53
Chapter 11 — Father Jordan's Temperance 59
Chapter 12 — Father Jordan's Fortitude 62
Chapter 13-— Father Jordan's Observance of the

Vows of Poverty, Chastity and
Obedience 66

Chapter 14 — Father Jordan's Humility 75
Chapter 15 — Father Jordan's Supernatural Gifts 79
Chapter 16 — Father Jordan's Death 81
Chapter 17 — Father Jordan's Reputation for

Sanctity 88

Chapter 18 — Father Jordan's Intercession 91

VI



INTRODUCING FATHER JORDAN

Since the following pages will give you
a rather detailed account of Father Jordan
and his virtues, you will probably appreci-
ate a brief advance description of the man.
Father Jordan was of more than medium
stature, about five feet ten inches in height;
he was broad shouldered and of rather
strong build; his weight in his last years
was probably about two hundred pounds.
He enjoyed good health up to the time
when he began his higher studies. But he
began his studies for the priesthood when
he was already somewhat advanced in age;
and, because he was well aware of the in-
itial difficulties confronting him and of the
importance of a good start, he applied him-
self to those studies with a zeal and will
power that were out of proportion to his
physical strength. The immediate conse-
quence was that he injured his nerves to a
considerable extent and thus made work
very hard for himself all his life long. The
result of these shattered nerves was that
both agreeable and disagreeable things
made an excessive impression upon him.
Hence, Father Luethen was right when he
used to say: “We have absolutely no idea
of what he must suffer.” He also had to
suffer from a kind of bronchitis. His di-
gestive organs likewise caused him much
trouble, so that he had to be extremely

VII



careful in eating. Father Luethen, who
after Father Jordan was the first member
of the Society of the Divine Savior and
who was a most perfect model of mortifica-
tion at the table and whose place was at
Jordan’s right, saw to it that the latter took
the proper diet. Otherwise Father Jordan
had no serious illness—with the exception
of one that came upon him in the year
1897—and he was accordingly able to do
his work all his life long.

As pointed out above, Father Jordan was
very much hampered in his activity by his
weakened nerves. This led to a condition
that we might call anxiousness or over-
anxiety. From this, of course, his fellow
workers in the vineyard of the Lord had
to suffer almost as much as he.

Again, Father Jordan was of an extreme-
ly impulsive nature. He was quick to seize
upon a thought and to develop it within his
mind. Because of his open, one might al-
most say childlike disposition, he would
often communicate plans to others even be-
fore he himself really knew whether or not
they were capable of realization. Then, if
the person to whom such plans were made
known would agree with him, he would
at once raise objections and would him-
self give expression to a thousand and one
misgivings. One who could listen to all
these and then quietly dispel them had to
have good nerves and very great patience.
It seems that Father Luethen was the only

VIII



one who could really do this perfectly; and
it was just this saintly priest whom Father
Jordan approached for counsel more than
any one else. This he would do whether
the time was opportune or not; for when
Father Jordan had misgivings, they had to
be dispelled as quickly as possible; and as a
rule he contented himself with placing
them before others for final decision.

As a rule Father Jordan did not want to
hear any reasons but wanted only a “Yes”
or a “No” to his anxious inquiry as to
whether he might be quiet about the mat-
ter that was at the moment troubling him.
Father Luethen used to say that one must
have patience and that our dear Lord had
as a matter of fact simply laid this cross of
over-anxiety upon the Founder. It was all
so arranged by a special dispensation of
God, because with his lively temperament
and his great desire to go ahead and do
things Father Jordan might otherwise easi-
ly have gone too far and the consequences
would then have been much worse. “You
see,” Father Luethen would smilingly say,
“our Venerable Father thinks too much,
that is why a thousand difficulties occur to
him that do not occur to others.”

IX



Father Francis Jordan Receives

the Blessing of Pope Leo XIII

on the Project of Starting His

Society.



CHAPTER 1
BIRTH AND BOYHOOD

Father Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan
was born June 16, 1848, at Gurtweil near
Waldshut, Baden, Archdiocese of Freiburg
in Breisgau. He was the second of three
sons. His parents were poor and simple
peasants. His father, Lawrence Jordan, had
an accident which left him a cripple for the
rest of his life. He died when the subject of
this biography was about fifteen years old.
His mother, Nothburga, whose maiden
name was Peter, was a quiet, industrious,
serious woman. Because of her husband’s
handicap much additional work fell to her
lot. The Jordan family was poor in every
way; indeed their poverty was often so ex-
treme that they did not have enough to eat.

Born on June 16, 1848, Father Jordan
was baptized the following day in the par-
ish church and was given the name of John
Baptist.

John Baptist Jordan was a rather lively
lad and one given to all the pranks that
characterize a normal boy; but he was by
no means malicious. Nevertheless, he felt
sorry for those boyhood pranks in later
years, as is evidenced by the fact that he
apologized for them to his classmates be-
fore he began to study for the priesthood
and again before he offered his first Mass.

At the usual age John Baptist attended

1



2

the elementary school in his home town.
But he did not like to study and once in a
while he played truant. When he thus ab-
sented himself without permission he usual-
ly went fishing. In this way he also inci-
dentally replenished the family larder. But,
though he did not care much for study and
though he did play truant from time to
time, he was nevertheless the best pupil in
his school, so much so that the teacher
sometimes asked him to take his place
when he himself was prevented from pre-
siding for some time over the class. Though
John Baptist was not one of the regular
altar boys, still he could serve Mass well
and he liked to do so.

In those days, before the famous decree
of Pope Pius X on the early Communion of
children, it was not customary to receive
Holy Communion at such an early age as
is the practice today. That is why John
Baptist Jordan was twelve years old when
he received his first Holy Communion in
the parish church of his home village. After
this first blessed union with the Savior in
the Holy Eucharist John Baptist was a dif-
ferent boy. Up to that time a rather frivo-
lous lad, he now manifested a remarkable
change in his conduct. Though he never
spoke of what he had experienced in his
soul on the occasion of his first Holy Com-
munion, there was at least one exterior cir-
cumstance which makes us pause and won-
der. It had been noticed that his behavior
at the communion rail was very restless.



3

Afterwards when his pastor rebuked him for
this, he apologized by simply explaining
that he could not help it, because “a white
dove fluttered around my head and then
flew away towards heaven.”
Be that as it may, John Baptist Jordan

seemed greatly changed from the day of his
first Holy Communion. Often he would
withdraw from his companions and go into
the woods or to some secluded spot where
he would pray or read the Lives of the
Saints. He was different from other boys.
He did not frequent taverns; he did not in-
dulge in worldly amusements; he never as-
sociated with persons of the other sex; he
frequently received the Sacraments and
was especially careful in his preparation for
confession. But in spite of his seclusion he
was loved by all because of his friendly
ways.

Being a poor boy in a poor family, John
Baptist lived as a workman up to his six-
teenth year. It was difficult to make ends
meet in the family, as we have seen, and
he had to do more than his share to allevi-
ate daily needs. In 1864, when he was six-
teen years of age, he decided that he would
become a decorator, and after completing
his apprenticeship in this trade he joined
the Catholic Journeymen’s Association and,
as was then customary, set out on his trav-
els as a journeyman, during which he care-
fully avoided the wTorld and its dangers,
thus preparing himself for the call of grace
which was soon to come.



CHAPTER 2
HIGHER EDUCATION
AND PRIESTHOOD

When John Baptist Jordan was twenty-
one years of age he clearly sensed an in-
terior voice which drew him nearer to God;
and not only that, but he felt himself dis-
tinctly called to the priesthood. During the
summer of 1869 he was present at the first
Mass of a newly ordained priest in his
home parish; and it was on this occasion
that his resolution to study for the priest-
hood reached full maturity. Once he had
this lofty goal set before him, he overcame
with extraordinary energy all the difficul-
ties which confronted his heart’s desire,
namely, advanced age, poverty, feeble
health, and draft into military service. He
surmounted all these obstacles because he
prayed much and trusted in the help of
God; and God, Who has promised to aid
those who ask for His assistance, did not
fail him.

John Baptist was not admitted to any
high school because of his age, so he asked
his parish priest to give him private lessons.
His pastor approved of the plan but turned
over the task to his assistant; and the as-
sistant, handing the young man a Latin
Grammar, gave him the laconic order to
learn the five declensions within eight days
and then come back and report to him.
Though he did not at the time realize what

4



5

an almost impossible task had thus been
imposed upon him, John Baptist neverthe-
less did as he was told, returning after
eight days and startling his teacher with his
mastery of the lesson imposed. After a year
and a half of this private instruction he
passed the examination for the sixth class
of the so-called Gymnasium at Constance,
in Baden, where he then went through the
four upper classes and graduated in 1874.
For his final examination he prepared a
composition in twelve languages.

During the years of study just men-
tioned John Baptist lived in great poverty
and privation. He endeavored to work his
way through college, as we would say, by
earning some money by giving private les-
sons. In addition to that he begged of cer-
tain good-hearted, generous families his
daily sustenance, getting his dinner now at
one place, then at another. No sacrifice
seemed too great for him when it was a
question of reaching the goal he had set for
himself, the inestimable grace of the holy
priesthood.

In the year 1874 he also made his first
pilgrimage to Rome. His notes about this
show that especially the catacombs left a
deep impression on his soul. From 1874 to
1877 John Baptist studied philosophy and
theology at the university in Freiburg,
Breisgau. He attended the lectures with
the greatest diligence and was very success-
ful in his studies there. Though he studied
a great variety of subjects, his interior life



6

of virtue was not in the least impaired
thereby. In the words of the director, Dr.
Litschgi, “the theologian John Baptist Jor-
dan of Gurtweil distinguished himself by
his exceptional piety and humility.”

In the fall of 1877 he entered the Archi-
episcopal Seminary of St. Peter near Frei-
burg in Breisgau. There he strove after
Christian perfection with extraordinary
zeal while preparing for ordination to the
priesthood. He was ordained priest by
Auxiliary Bishop Lothar von Kuebel on
July 21, 1878. Because of the anti-clerical
attitude of the state he could not celebrate
his first Mass in his home parish, so he
offered the adorable Sacrifice for the first
time in a town in Switzerland called Doet-
tingen. He then spent two weeks in his
home town, Gurtweil, where he could in-
deed say Mass but only behind closed
doors. Because of the so-called Kultur-
kampf, which amounted to a persecution of
Catholics, and because of his refusal, at his
Bishop’s direction, to undergo the state ex-
amination, Father Jordan could not get an
appointment in his home diocese. He there-
fore asked his Bishop for permission to con-
tinue his studies in Rome. The permission
was gladly granted and he was admitted to
the Campo Santo, a college for priests, and
studied Oriental languages (Armenian, Syr-
ian, Coptic) at the Papal Seminary of St.
Apollinaris.

Father Jordan was permeated with a
glowing zeal for the salvation of souls.



7

Therefore he constantly begged God, as he
had already done even while he was still in
the seminary, to make known to him in
what way he might most efficaciously pro-
mote His honor and procure the salvation
of immortal souls. As he thus prayed and
reflected the thought began to develop in
his mind that he could multiply his power
and labor most efficaciously for the greater
glory of God and the salvation of souls by
means of a religious association or congre-
gation. Especially these words of the holy
Cure of Ars left a lasting impression upon
him: “I often think that the majority of
people are lost through lack of instruction.”
Hence, the necessity of religious instruction
and education preoccupied the mind of
Father Jordan; and in September, 1878, he
was already firmly resolved to lay the foun-
dation for this work.

In this spirit and with these ideas in
mind Father Jordan, in the summer of
1880, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land
in order there to pray for strength and to
get God’s special blessing for the plan he
had in view. He also utilized his stay in
Palestine to improve, by practice, his know-
ledge of Oriental languages. With this pur-
pose in mind he stayed for three months
at the college of Ain-Warka. Moreover,
while in Jerusalem he submitted his plan for
a religious foundation to Bishop and future
Cardinal Massaia. This cardinal was thus
the first to encourage him in his new under-
taking and to impart his blessing upon it.



CHAPTER 3
APOSTOLIC TEACHING SOCIETY
After his return from the Holy Land

Father Jordan steadily pursued his aim of
founding a new religious Society. In order
to dedicate himself unreservedly to this
project he abandoned his favorite study of
languages. In his solicitude to do what was
right he made sure to ask higher ecclesi-
astical dignitaries for their counsel and
their blessing. Almost without exception
they received him kindly and approved of
his plans. Especially was Cardinal Bilio
very much interested in Father Jordan; he
even declared himself his protector and
procured for him a private audience with
Pope Leo XIII, who bestowed his special
blessing upon the project. Having received
the blessing of the Holy Father and the en-
couragement of so many cardinals, Father
Jordan thought that he could now without
more ado proceed with his foundation. But
it was here that he made a mistake which
later on gave his adversaries a weapon with
which to assail him. In good faith he had
not thought of obtaining first of all the in-
dispensable and necessary permission of
His Eminence the Cardinal Vicar of Rome.

Together with a theologian who had
joined him, Father Jordan then rented a
lodging in the house of St. Brigid in Rome.
There he said Mass daily in the little
church connected with the house, and from

8



9

time to time, especially on certain feast-
days, preached a sermon.
He called his foundation Apostolic

Teaching Society and chose the Mother of
God as his Patroness under the title “Queen
of Apostles.” He then went to Germany in
search of cooperators and in order to secure
financial assistance. At Donauwoerth he
won for his cause the Rev. Bernard Lue-
then, editor of the “Ambrosius,” a periodi-

cal for priests, who later on, as Father
Bonaventure, became the most eminent
member of his Society. That Society was
definitely started on December 8, 1881, at
Rome, in the death chamber of St. Brigid.
There Father Jordan offered a Holy Mass
in which two priests who had joined him
assisted, received Holy Communion from
his hand, and also took the three religious
vows, but only in a private manner.

Father Jordan gave his foundation the
following purpose: the Apostolic Teaching
Society pursues the task of propagating,
defending, and strengthening the Catholic
faith in all countries of the world in the
spirit of the Apostles. For this end it makes
use of the spoken and of the printed word;
it intends to send missionaries to non-Cath-
olic and pagan countries and to help along
in the care of souls in Catholic lands; it
endeavors to make those teachers already
active in the Church enthusiastic for their
vocation and to support them in the dis-
desires to attain by publishing special vo-
charge of their duties. This latter end it



10

cational periodicals for all the teaching
bodies, namely for pastors, for teachers in
higher and lower schools, for parents, and
for all others helping along in the work of
education; moreover, it seeks to attain its
end also by distributing such literature as
has already been published and is per-
meated with a true Catholic spirit. At the
same time all those who participate in the
work of Catholic education are to be united,
imbued with an apostolic spirit, and sanc-
tified by means of common prayer. Indeed,
Father Jordan attached such importance to
the apostolate of the press that even before
the actual foundation of the Society he had
established a printing press in the house of
St. Brigid, where two Italian monthlies ap-
peared under the capable editorship of the
zealous Titular Archbishop Peter Rota,
Canon of St. Peter’s, whose informative
process has been started. It is to be re-
membered in this connection that Father
Luethen became the editor of the German
periodical “Missionaer” and that as early
as March, 1882, the first number of the
“Nuntius Romanus,” a Latin magazine, ap-
peared, likewise edited by Archbishop
Rota. In 1884 Father Jordan began the
publication of “Manna,” a magazine for
children. As a result of the Society’s
growth the establishment at the house of
St. Brigid was no longer adequate and
another dwelling had to be found. After
some negotiations the large, commodious
building was obtained which to this day,



11

with some alterations, is the headquarters
and Motherhouse of the Society.
As mentioned above, Father Jordan had

in good faith made a mistake by not seek-
ing the official permission of the Cardinal
Vicar of Rome for the establishment of his
Society. This led to the Cardinal Vicar’s
transmitting the whole affair to the Sacred
Congregation for Religious, which in turn
deputed a member of a religious order to
examine the whole matter. The final docu-
ments were then submitted to the Holy
Father. The result of all this was that on
September 25, 1882, the Cardinal Vicar
notified Father Jordan that the Holy Fa-
ther did not permit the title Apostolic
Teaching Society. Thereupon, in October,
1882, Father Jordan changed the name of
his foundation. Because objections had
been raised against the word “Apostolic”
he now called it Catholic Teaching Society.

CHAPTER 4
SOCIETY OF THE DIVINE SAVIOR
On Passion Sunday, March 11, 1883,

Father Jordan took the three usual vows
of religion, according to the following for-
mula: “I vow unto the Holy Father and his
lawful successors obedience, as also pover-



12

ty and chastity, and I vow to devote and
sacrifice myself wholly to the furtherance
of the glory of God and the salvation of
souls.” At the same time he assumed his
name in religion: Francis Mary of the
Cross.

After the change of the name of his
foundation from Apostolic Teaching Socie-
ty to Catholic Teaching Society and after a
specially appointed visitator had ascer-
tained from personal observation Father
Jordan's thorough ecclesiastical attitude
and his full and unrestricted devotedness
to authority, the objections that had been
raised against him were overcome by a
favorable report.

However, Church authorities did ask
him to explain how he thought that priests
living in the world could be bound by vows
of poverty and obedience. Pondering over
this matter and seeking in his own mind a
solution to this knotty problem, Father Jor-
dan himself gradually began to have some
doubts as to whether such an association as
he had in mind could remain solidly united
and be properly governed in the interest of
the Church. Therefore, he finally decided
upon founding a religious congregation in
the strict sense of the word; and when, in
1893, a revision of the Society’s constitu-

tions was made, he once again bowed to the
will and wish of ecclesiastical authority in
the matter of a name for his foundation.
His religious congregation was called
Society of the Divine Savior, and this time



^
i;

FATHER FRANCIS JORDAN AS HE LOOKED
WHEN HIS TWO SOCIETIES WERE WELL

UNDERWAY.



14

with the full and permanent approbation
of Holy Mother Church. Father Jordan
himself related that during his sojourn in
the Holy Land, when standing upon Mount
Lebanon and pondering over his founda-
tion and future task, the words came to his
mind: “Now this is everlasting life, that
they may know Thee, the only true God,
and Him Whom Thou has sent, Jesus
Christ.” Henceforth the Divine Savior,
Jesus Christ, was the Titular and Patron
of his Society. That is why the emblem of
the Society is a representation of the teach-
ing Savior with a cross in the background
and the circular inscription, in Latin: “Jesus
Christ Son of God Savior.”
On December 8, 1888, Father Jordan

had founded a congregation of Sisters who
were called Sisters of the Catholic Teach-
ing Society. Baroness von Wuellenweber,
who had been under Father Jordan’s spirit-
ual direction since the year 1882, was ap-
pointed Superior. About this the Baroness
wrote, among other things: “We were per-
mitted to stay in Rome for three days, in
order to visit the sanctuaries. Then we
had to go to Tivoli, a little episcopal city,
distant about two hours by train from
Rome, where, on November 27th, our Ven-
erable Founder led us into our dwelling,
which was small and poor. Kneeling, I then
received from his hand the holy rules of the
order, which he handed to me with the
words: 'If you do this, you will become
holy.’ ” The Baroness took as her name in



15

religion: Mary of the Apostles; and she
became the first Superior General. The
religious habit selected by the Founder was
the same as the one worn by the Sisters to-
day. Mother Mary of the Apostles de-
voted herself heart and soul to the cause
and, what was more important still, let her-
self be guided by the will of the Founder
in a spirit of exemplary submission. Father
Jordan prescribed the religious habit, the
manner of life, and the activity of the con-
gregation. And Mother Mary saw to it
that there was no deviation whatsoever
from these directions. In 1893, when Father
Jordan’s foundation was definitely named
Society of the Divine Savior, the founda-
tion he had established under Mother Mary
of the Apostles was officially and definitely
called the Congregation of the Sisters of
the Divine Savior.

Already in 1889 Father Jordan’s So-
ciety had been given by Propaganda the
immense mission field of Assam, in what
was then British India. Thereafter in his
great desire to save souls he did not rest
until he saw his Society spread in as many
countries as possible. Each year he opened
one or more new Houses of the Society.

Father Jordan convoked the first Gener-
al Chapter of the Society of the Divine
Savior in 1902, at which he was unani-
mously elected Superior General, to which
office he was repeatedly re-elected up to
the year 1915. In 1905 his heart was glad-
dened by the first Papal Approbation of



16

the Society; and his happiness was com-
plete when in 1911 the Holy See granted
Final Approbation to the Society of the
Divine Savior.
On September 8, 1918, Father Francis

Mary of the Cross Jordan died in Switzer-
land, where the Generalate had been tem-
porarily transferred during the first World
War.

Such is the brief history of the Society
of the Divine Savior and its Founder, a
man of God who, after the turning point of
grace on the occasion of his first Holy Com-
munion, became a shining example of all
virtues in all the conditions of his life: as a

boy, a laborer, a student of the classics and
of philosophy and theology, as a secular
priest, as Founder of his Society, and as a
religious. He was always a source of edifi-
cation and admiration to all who lived
with him.
He was so truly a servant of God that,

once he had started on the way of per-
fection, by constant endeavors he advanced
step by step. Nothing could move him in
his faith in God, nor in his trust in Him, nor
in his love for Him, not even the gravest
human disappointments and trials. And
not only did he practice the three divine
virtues of faith, hope and charity in a
heroic degree but also the four cardinal vir-

tues of prudence, justice, temperance, and
fortitude. Through his life of faith and
virtue, his mild, kindly, humble, and mod-
est example, he merited from God that



17

particular spirit which characterizes the
two religious families founded by him, a
spirit with which he himself was imbued
and which he transmitted to them.

CHAPTER 5
FATHER JORDAN’S FAITH

Father Jordan looked upon it as a most
precious grace to have been born in the
bosom of the Catholic Church. Thus he
used to say: “We can never thank God
enough that we have Catholic parents.” In
the weekly Chapter of Faults which he
held in the Motherhouse in Rome he time
and again admonished his subjects to
thank God for the undeserved grace of
the true faith.

His Mission-mindedness

Father Jordan was filled with a fervent
desire to win all men over to our holy faith.
He constantly prayed that all might be one
and exhorted others to do the same. His
was truly apostolic prayer. So much was
he steeped in the thought of saving souls
that in his radiant face one could positively
see an indescribable joy when he heard of
the labors and successes of his spiritual
sons and daughters in the service of the
Church, or when he was able to send some
new laborers into the vineyard of the Lord.



18

This spirit of his is well expressed in the
following portion of the morning prayer
composed by him which is daily recited in
all the Salvatorian Houses throughout the
world: “That they may faithfully and per-
severingly make known, bring to light, and
glorify Thee, the Triune God, everywhere
until the consummation of the world and
lead innumerable souls to Thee.

,,

His zeal for souls was truly unquench-
able. This aim, the salvation of souls, pre-
occupied him all day long, penetrating all
his thinking, planning, and praying. Even
as a student he endeavored to contribute to
and fervently promote the apostolate of the
press. This fire glowed within him still
more brightly when he was a student of
theology. “Oh, you souls,” he wrote, “pur-
chased with a great price, I wish I could
save you; readily would I sacrifice my life
for you.” Later on, in order to fill his spirit-
ual sons with the proper enthusiasm for the
apostolate, he had maps hung up in front
of his room showing the mission fields and
giving mission statistics, so that they might
study the same while awaiting their turn at
his door. In the annual Directory which
was printed for the Society he prefixed
each month with the words: “To the pray-
ers and labors of the members are recom-
mended the following peoples, nations,
tribes, and islands.” He kept a small globe
on his desk which he looked over and stud-
ied again and again; and one could hear
him frequently say: “We need more mem-



19

bers; we need priests” for the vineyard of
the Lord. In his addresses he often en-
treated that one should not criticize him on
account of the many Houses he had
founded; he said that they were but grains
of seed for the Society and for the propaga-
tion of our holy faith. Whenever reports
on the care of souls exercised by the mem-
bers of the Society were read in the re-
fectory, his face assumed such a radiant
warmth that one could perceive his interi-
or joy. In his last illness the infirmarian

heard him say: “O that I could convert the
whole world!” Once he said sadly to his
first spiritual son, Father Bonaventure Lue-
then: “A bishop stood with folded hands
before me and asked for priests .... pray
much, pray much for a good coming gener-
ation. We could use a thousand priests
right now.” It was said of him that his de-
sire for the propagation of our holy faith
and his great zeal for souls was the greatest
passion of his life. In a word, Father Jordan
was a man of faith through and through.
That is why he again and again admon-
ished his subjects to be men of faith, men
willing to die for an article of faith. That
is what he himself was.

His Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

Needless to say, Father Jordan had a
most fervent devotion to the Most Holy
Trinity. This profound interior adoration
manifested itself in the devout manner in
which he always made the sign of the cross;



20

also in the deep, reverential inclination
which he was wont to make at the “Glory
be to the Father,'” etc., and in the fervent
recollection with which he said the Credo.

But what we wish to point out here in a
special manner is Father Jordan’s great de-
votion to the Most Holy Sacrament of the
altar, a devotion which he endeavored to
promote by word and example among his
subjects. One could not help being deeply
moved when observing his recollection
as he prayed before the Blessed Sacrament.
Even when entering the chapel and whilst
going up to the altar he looked at nothing
else but seemed to be all absorbed in the
fact that he was looking towards Jesus and
Jesus was looking at him. He made fre-
quent visits every day to the Hidden Sav-
ior in the Sacrament of His love, and
these visits often lasted for a long time,

even for hours; indeed, he spent whole
nights in prayer before the Blessed Sacra-
ment, especially when he was young and
his health was still good. It was his prac-
tice to pay a short visit to the Blessed
Sacrament before leaving the house and
upon returning; and he introduced this
custom into the Society. So, too, he doffed
his biretta in passing the chapel. During
exposition of the Blessed Sacrament his
eyes were constantly fixed upon the sacred
Host, so that one who for many years ob-
served him closely called him “The saint
before the Blessed Sacrament.” His lively
faith was manifested by his every genu-



21

flection, which bespoke deep veneration
and humble adoration. For years he daily
visited St. Peter's in Rome where he was
wont to prostrate himself before the altar
of the Blessed Sacrament and to commune
so long and so ardently with the Savior as
seemingly to be oblivious of his surround-
ings.

His Devotion to the Passion of Christ

Father Jordan also fostered a particular
devotion to the suffering Savior; and it was
from this that he drew his great love for
the cross. His name in religion, as we have
said, was Francis Mary of the Cross. For
Thursday evening he introduced into the
Society the meditation of our Lord's agony
in the garden; and he ordained that on
every first Friday of the month the history
of our Lord’s Passion should be read at
dinner. As we have seen, he visited the
sacred places of Christ's suffering in the

Holy Land; and later on he spoke with the
greatest unction and emotion of that pil-
grimage. He personally made earnest and
untiring efforts to resemble Christ Cruci-
fied. In his addresses nothing was so fre-
quently reiterated as religious observance
and love of the cross. It is known that
again and again he lovingly looked at the
little crucifix on his desk, took it in his
hand and ardently kissed it; and when giv-
ing his farewell addresses to departing

missionaries he never failed to extol and to
recommend the cross as an inexhaustible



22

source of blessing and success in the con-
version of pagans. Again and again he
would say to those who were despondent
and fainthearted: “Hold the cross tightly in
your hand.” To a certain Father he recom-
mended as the best axiom for his diary:
“Nothing thrives but in the shadow of the
cross.” The Brother who had to tidy his
room, often saw him standing before the
large crucifix on the wall and observed
with edification how he threw himself upon
his knees and with clenched fist struck his
breast and was all absorbed in prayer.
(This Brother, by the way, had permission
to enter the room without knocking at the
door, because he often had to go in and out;
that is why he often came upon Father
Jordan unawares.)

Father Francis of the Cross saw in the
cross the one unmistakable guarantee of
God’s blessing. One time when the Sister Su-
perior of a large hospital in charge of the
Sisters founded by him was showing him
through the same on the occasion of a visit
and pointing out its various furnishings, she
naively remarked: “Venerable Father, we
have no cross whatsoever.” Whereupon he
turned to her as if dumfounded and said
very earnestly: “What, you have no cross-
es? If that is the case your affairs are in
pretty bad shape.” The Sister was very
much embarrassed by this remark and pro-
ceeded to appease him by explaining that
she meant that there were no extraordinary
crosses, that daily sufferings and adversi-



23

ties were, of course, not lacking. To which
he replied: “Yes, there must be crosses,
otherwise it would be too bad.”

His Veneration of the Mother of God

Father Jordan had a great devotion also
to the Mother of God, especially under the
title of the Immaculate Conception. This
love of Mary was one of the most beautiful
traits of his character; it manifested itself
in innumerable ways throughout his life.
He chose the eighth of December, the feast
of the Immaculate Conception, as the day
for the foundation of the Society of the
Divine Savior as well as for the foundation
of the Congregation of the Sisters of the
Divine Savior; he chose Mary as the prin-
cipal Patroness; and he named all the
Houses in honor of Mary. He had very
much at heart the spread of devotion to the
Blessed Virgin Mary. “You must never
rest as long as the Queen of heaven and
earth is not praised everywhere,” we read
in his book of resolutions. He, accordingly,
made the spread of this devotion one of the
principal ends of his Society; a true son of
the Society would be recognized by de-
votion to the Virgin Mother of God. Even
before he founded the Society he had
visited some shrines of the “heavenly Mo-
ther,” as he used to call her, and had re-
mained there for some time in order to
secure her protection and help for the
execution of his plans. Two such shrines
were Mount Carmel in Palestine and Mary



24

of Einsiedeln in Switzerland. Almost con-
stantly he carried the rosary in his hand in
order to utilize every available moment for
a Hail Mary. With a view of over and over
again animating his subjects to increased
veneration for the Mother of God he would
quote the words of St. Epiphanius: “Jesus
is the hook, Mary is the bait.” As he him-
self had assumed the name Mary, he was
very much pleased when his spiritual sons
asked him for permission to add this name
to their religious name. As another means
of promoting this devotion, he introduced
the practice of carrying the rosary sus-

pended from the cincture, thus making it,
as it were, a part of the religious habit. He
ordained that the first Saturday of every
month should be observed in a solemn way
and for this solemnity composed a special
formula of consecration which down to
this day is being recited in all the Houses
of the Society on the first Saturday of
each month.

In various other ways did Father Jordan
manifest his devotion to the Mother of
God. So, to enumerate but a few of these
ways, he experienced a special joy when
bishops offered the Society the care of

shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin
Mary; and when there was question of giv-
ing up such places he never gave his con-
sent. Sometimes one would have to await
his attention when in his room, because he
would be absorbed in contemplating the
little statue of Our Lady of Lourdes stand-



25

IT WAS THE FOUNDER'S CUSTOM TO PLACE
HIS PETITIONS LITERALLY ON THE HANDS OF
THE BLESSED MOTHER STATUE ON HIS DESK.

ing upon his desk or would be sitting there
with his hands stretched out imploringly to
the Mother of God. Sometimes when he
thought that he was unobserved he was
seen standing with outstretched arms be-
fore a picture of the Blessed Virgin and
uttering ejaculatory prayers in a subdued
voice. His confidence in the heavenly
Mother was boundless, as is especially evi-
dent from his childlike and pious habit of
writing his petitions on small slips of paper
and putting them between the fingers of
the statue on his table - slips that would
contain words like these: “Mother, I am



26

thine, save me!” - “Mother, pay our debts!”
and the like. There was always at least one
such slip in the statue’s hands. When he
was in unusual trouble and grief he would
go to the shrine of the Sorrowful Mother
in the side chapel of the Motherhouse
where he would pray for strength and cour-
age. In a niche of the staircase in the
Motherhouse there was a statue of Mary
Immaculate; with childlike joy and ven-
eration he was wont to greet it already
from a distance and when passing it would
take off his biretta or hat and bow his head;
and then he would keep his eyes fixed on
our Lady whilst silently praying till he had
passed by. Over and over again he gave
orders that this statue be adorned and that
a light be kept burning before it. At least
once his boundless trust in the Mother of
God was miraculously rewarded on the oc-
casion of great financial distress. Finally,

it surely may also be regarded as a special
grace obtained for him from the heavenly
Mother that he died on the feast of the
nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sep-
tember 8, that he could enter into the joys
of eternal life on her birthday.

His Veneration of the Saints

In his characteristic childlike manner
Father Jordan also venerated the saints of
God and in his addresses he frequently
admonished his hearers to do the same,
especially as regards those whom he had
chosen as special patrons of the Society.



27

First of all there was St. Joseph, the patron
of the interior life, the great exemplar of a
life hidden in God, a shining example of a
true religious, and an unfailing helper in
distress and trouble. Then there were the
holy Apostles, inasmuch as his Society was
conceived as an association of undaunted
apostles, ready to do and dare for the
Divine Master and for Him to expend all
their energy; and this may explain why for
years he visited the tomb of the Prince of
the Apostles in St. Peter’s every day. Again,
there was St. Michael the Archangel, whom
he looked upon as a glorious model of the
champions of God. There was also St.
Francis of Assisi, whose statue was always
standing on his desk, whose name he had
assumed, and whose love of poverty he en-
deavored to imitate; moreover, hanging on
the wall in front of the place which he used
to occupy in the domestic chapel, was an
inspiring picture of this same St. Francis
of Assisi, the heavenly patron whose name
he had chosen. He had a special devotion
to St. John the Baptist, the Forerunner of
the Savior, from whom he desired to learn
zeal for souls. Finally, there was his de-
votion to his Guardian Angel, a devotion
which dated back to the time of his studies.
“Never forget what holy, pure, lily-white
messengers of heaven accompany you so
closely in all your ways,” he once wrote.
“Oh, never sadden them, but ever keep
yourself in their midst and serve the heav-
enly Father as they do.”



28

Living and Thinking With the Church

Only in the first few years of his priestly
life did Father Jordan preach publicly be-
fore the people, for instance, at Fribourg in
Switzerland and at St. Brigid’s in Rome.
After he had founded the Society of the
Divine Savior he spoke only to the as-
sembled community. For some time he
preached on Sundays and feastdays in the
chapel of the House. Besides, he delivered
many addresses on the occasion of investi-
tures, professions, departures of mission-
aries, etc. Above all, for many years he
gave a talk at the weekly Chapter of Faults.
On all those occasions he showed a great
familiarity with Holy Scripture and the
Fathers of the Church.

Father Jordan submitted himself with
scrupulous conscientiousness in childlike

and humble obedience to the laws of the
Church; and he often spoke the words: “We
certainly want nothing but what Holy
Church wants.” The “Sentire cum Ec-
clesia” (“To think with the Church”) of St.
Ignatius had actually permeated his entire
being. He bowed without bitterness and
contradiction when the rules drawn up by
him were greatly abbreviated by the Holy
See and the rule concerning the apostolate,
which he had drawn up with so much joy
and enthusiasm, was completely struck out.
“Holy Church knows how to do the right
thing and must have good reasons for it,”

was his humble remark. Always and in all



29

things he insisted on the accurate execution

of all Papal decrees. Indeed, it used to be
rather humorously remarked that with
three things one could chase Father Jor-
dan through fire: (1) Holy Church com-
mands it, (2) the Holy Father desires
it, (3) the holy rule prescribes it.

Father Jordan, then, honored the Holy
Father, bishops, and priests in a most ex-
emplary ^ way; he always spoke of them
in terms of highest esteem. It made him
quite happy when many of his subjects at
the Motherhouse obtained tickets for ad-
mission to celebrations in St. Peter’s; for

thus they could see the Holy Father, do
homage to him, and receive his blessing.
He was wont to pay visits to every bishop
who came to Rome and with whom the
Society had some connection, and that de-
spite the fact that it was a great sacrifice for
him to appear before high personages or
officials, particularly because of his shat-
tered nerves. In a word, he entertained
the highest reverence for the priestly dig-
nity. He used to say that if as a priest he
could do no more than once impart his
sacerdotal blessing to a child he would be
richly rewarded for all the efforts involved
in his studies.

Living and thinking thus with the
Church, it was the most natural thing for
Father Jordan conscientiously to observe
all the rubrics of the liturgy and the cere-
monies of the Church. He wished in this
regard also to do everything as perfectly



30

as possible. Hence he did not think it be-
neath his dignity often to ask the server of
his Mass whether he had perhaps noticed
any mistakes. So, too, he often asked the
Father who composed the Directory
whether he could do this or that at Holy
Mass or in the recitation of the breviary or
how this or that ruling was to be observed.
In this spirit he also exhorted his subjects
from time to time to use the rubrics as
their spiritual reading; and he ordained
that liturgical conferences should be held
with the master of ceremonies presiding.
Owing to his shattered nerves, he had to
make almost superhuman efforts himself
in order to observe the ceremonies ac-
curately; but in this respect he did not
spare himself in the least, so that often his

amice was quite drenched with sweat due
to the efforts that he was obliged to make.
He was also solicitous about the decora-
tion and ornamentation of the house of
God. He considered nothing too expensive
or too good for the church. As far as pos-
sible, he wanted the best of everything in
the service of God.
The Church’s Code of Canon Law

states that the faithful are to esteem in-
dulgences highly. Father Jordan had a
very high estimation of indulgences; he
tried to gain all he could; and he always
did his best to fulfill all the conditions

necessary for gaining them. It seemed as
though he were always holding a rosary



31

in his hand with a view to gaining as many
indulgences as possible.

The Church is very strict in its censor-
ship of books, well knowing what a vast
amount of spiritual harm bad books can do.
Living and thinking with the Church, Fa-
ther Jordan had a holy hatred of bad
books and took good care that none of
them ever fell into the hands of his sub-
jects. It is edifying to recall that from
time to time he even asked the librarian of
the Motherhouse to look through his own
books in order to see whether or not a
questionable book had perhaps slipped in.
When visiting the various colleges he was
wont to examine the library carefully and
to give orders that dangerous books be re-
moved so that nobody might suffer any
harm.

CHAPTER 6
FATHER JORDAN’S HOPE

Father Jordan was animated with a
confident, unshakeable hope of attaining
everlasting salvation through the merits
of his Leader, Jesus Christ, the Savior of
the world; and this childlike, unfaltering
trust shone forth in all his words and ac-
tions. One might say that he hardly wrote
a single letter in which he did not try to
arouse in his subjects, at least with a few
telling words, this confidence and trust in
God.



32

Detached from all worldy things, his
endeavors and inclinations were directed
only to God and his eternal destiny. This
detachment manifested itself everywhere
and in many ways. There was his unself-
ishness, his frugality as regards his own
person, his manner of life, his garments, the
poor furnishings of his cell. He looked
upon everything earthly in the light of
eternity, as a means for the attainment of
eternal salvation. Quite alien to him was
any desire for money or possessions, for
joy, for honor, for the comforts and con-
veniences of life.

In all the hard trials of this life Father
Jordan put his trust in God alone, had re-
course to prayer, and expected everything
from God’s goodness and providence. In
his addresses we constantly meet with ex-
hortations to confidence in God. He never
complained about God, never said even a
single word against the wise dispositions of
the Almighty, so that of him could literally
be said what we read in Holy Writ of the
patient Job: “In all these things Job sinned
not by his lips, nor spoke he any foolish
thing against God.” Nor did his confidence
in God falter in the face of staggering
debts; and for this he was at various times
almost miraculously rewarded. In a word
he was a man who relied unreservedly on
Divine Providence. “The loving God,” he
was wont to say, “is good and disposes well
of all.” - “I would like to leave you a
special heritage, if I may say so, and that



33

is a great confidence in God.” Below a
photograph he wrote, in Latin, however:
“No one has hoped in the Lord and has
been confounded.”

In all his thoughts, words, and deeds, as
well as in all the emotions of his heart,
Father Jordan knew only God, his last end.
Already during the time of preparation for
the holy priesthood he had adopted this as
his principle of life: “Live only with God,
live only for God, act only through God’s
enlightenment, converse only with God,
often embrace God; let every breath be for
God; never do anything without God, trust
in God alone, and you will be able to do
everything with God - pray! pray! pray!”
Though there was no end to the ad-
versities and persecutions which he had to
endure, he never lost hope in God’s help,
never lost confidence in God’s providence.
Of those who afflicted him he used to say:
“They act in good faith and think they
must do as they do.” In all his troubles
and trials he clearly saw the hand of God;
and that was enough to make him bear
them all in a humble spirit.
The religious life as such demands many

a sacrifice. Father Jordan lived it in all its
severity in a most exemplary manner. He
did not make the slightest exception in the
observance of the rules, customs, and regu-
lations, unless the care of his health simply
demanded it. He always took part in the
common spiritual exercises, even when suf-
fering from one of the minor ailments



34

which so frequently afflicted him. It was
frequently noted that after his return home
from a tiring journey he was the first to
appear promptly in choir for the common
recitation of the breviary. He patiently
bore the burden of his office of Superior
General without ever uttering a word of
complaint, though so many journeys of
official visitation of the Houses in various
countries of the world caused him great
sufferings because of his ailing nerves. De-
spite the many affairs that constantly oc-
cupied him, he showed his childlike de-
votedness to God, his unshakeable hope in
God’s goodness and love by his uninter-
rupted praying. His lips seemed almost
always to be moving in prayer. He never
wearied of saying various ejaculatory pray-
ers and aspirations that came from the
very depths of his heart.
God was so pleased with Father Jordan’s

firm hope in Him that several times He
rewarded it in a miraculous manner, es-
pecially in the most difficult financial situ-
ations of the Society. The peace, resigna-
tion, and serenity manifested by him in his
last illness and at the hour of his death may
be regarded as a special grace and particu-
lar privilege, inasmuch as formerly, even in
minor dangers, for instance during thun-
derstorms, he showed himself very uneasy
and timid.



CHAPTER 7
FATHER JORDAN’S LOVE OF GOD
Father Jordan most conscientiously kept

the Commandments of God, the Precepts
of the Church, and the Constitutions of his
Society. This exact observance no doubt
demanded many a heroic sacrifice because
of the shattered nerves from which he suf-
fered. But no one could say that he ever
deliberately transgressed the Command-
ments of God, the Precepts of the Church,
or the Constitutions of the Society; indeed,
it never occurred to any one that Father
Jordan could deliberately and conscien-
tiously transgress in this way. He loved
God. And the Savior has said: “He who
has My commandments and keeps them,
he it is who loves Me.”

Loving God as he did, Father Jordan
hated sin with all his heart. His fear of sin
was so great and so noticeable and so
generally known that it almost seemed ex-
aggerated. All those who associated with
him were deeply impressed by his tender
conscience and his anxious solicitude that
nothing should happen which might even
resemble an offence against God. Many
who knew him were of the opinion that he
never committed a mortal sin after his first
Holy Communion; and a great many even
held the view that he preserved his bap-
tismal innocence. Again and again one
could hear this unusual protestation fall

35



from his lips: “Nolo peccare” (“I do not
want to sin”), even when he was in a semi-
conscious condition in his last illness. With
persevering zeal he made use of all the
means of grace offered by Holy Church in
order to cleanse his soul from all defects
and to preserve it free from stain.
As we have said above, the mind and

heart of Father Jordan was uninterruptedly
united with God. God and souls were the
sole objects of his thoughts, plans, labors,

and conversations. He lived in profound,
admirable recollection. Those who visited
him in his room or who started a conversa-
tion with him got the impression that he
first had to shake himself loose, so to
speak, from his union with God before
he could fully give his attention to the
visitor or speaker. Indeed, it was almost
impossible to have an ordinary conversa-
tion with him, for hardly had one started
when he would quite naturally switch the
subject over to the theme which alone
seemed constantly to occupy him, namely,
the greater glory of God and the salvation
of souls. “Out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh.”

It goes without saying, of course, that
Father Jordan said Mass every day, when
not prevented by sickness; and this he did
in spite of his nerve disease, which made
the celebration almost a martyrdom for
him and which called forth deep com-
passion among those who assisted at it.
So great an effort did it cause him that



37

often he returned from the altar drenched
in perspiration. His fervor, devotion, and
recollection at the celebration of the sacred

mysteries was so extraordinary that one
often got the impression that he was in
ecstasy. When during the last two and a
half months of his life he could no longer
say Mass he received Holy Communion
every day.

As we have already mentioned, Father
Jordan was a man of prayer in the truest
sense of the word. He actually prayed
without ceasing and made good use of
every moment for prayer. Whether he was
walking about or standing still, his lips
moved and the beads of the rosary glided
through his fingers. It was difficult for him
to withdraw from prayer, so much so that
sometimes when he was all absorbed in
prayer one could not attract his attention
in spite of repeated efforts to do so. Being
a lover of prayer himself, he sought to im-
bue his subjects with a love for prayer;
hence, in his admonitions and addresses
he dwelt on prayer over and over again.
“You must become men of prayer,” he
said. “Pray earnestly, most earnestly, pray
without ceasing!” - “Give me men of pray-
er and I will convert the whole world.” -

“Prayer is the greatest power in the world,”
he wrote on the wall of his room beside
the holy water font.

Loving God as he did, Father Jordan
was deeply pained when he heard about
the sins of others. Though he himself



38

was not engaged in the care of souls as
such, he could and did fight against sin
by word and example and exhorted his
spiritual sons to join in the combat with
him. He reminded his subjects of these
words of St. Francis: “Woe to you that
through your fault so many are lost!” With
St. John Chrysostom he urged them on to
greater zeal for souls in these words: “One
man of faith, burning with zeal, suffices to
bring back to righteousness a whole people
- one suffices!” In a word, he never grew
weary of exhorting, imploring, and entreat-
ing his spiritual sons to grow in the true
love of God and to enkindle it in the hearts
of others by all the ways and means which
the charity of Christ might inspire.

Besides the usual fasts prescribed by the
Church, it was neither prudent for Father
Jordan nor was it permitted that he take
upon himself such fasting or such corporal
works of penance as would have seriously
injured his health and made him less able
to perform the duties of his office. But he
nevertheless had ample opportunity to
practice the virtue of mortification and
thus show his great love for God and his
particularly intimate love for the suffering

Savior. For more than forty years he bore
with greatest patience and resignation and
in union with the Passion of Christ all the
suffering that came to him because of his
shattered nerves. How painful, how ex-
cruciating such an affliction can be is best
realized by those whose lot it is to carry



39

such a cross. Still, with the permission of

his confessor, he did some fasting every
Friday, in honor of Christ’s Passion.

Let these few words about Father Jor-
dan’s love of God suffice. He was very re-
served and cautious not to let others be
witnesses of his interior life. But things
such as the above simply could not be con-
cealed. And often enough, as we said, his
interior life plainly, almost naturally, as it
were, manifested itself on his face, in his
general attitude and appearance, and in his
fervent sighs and prayers.

CHAPTER 8
FATHER JORDAN’S LOVE

OF NEIGHBOR

Father Jordan’s burning zeal for souls
became in him a source of that true Chris-
tian love of neighbor which desires to lead
all men to God and to heaven. Next to the
glory of God, the salvation of souls was the
greatest aim of his life, his labors, and his
love. In all his discourses and instructions
he sought to make his spiritual sons zeal-
ous, tireless apostles for the welfare of the
neighbor. His love of neighbor embraced
all men; thus we read in his diary: “As long
as there is yet a single man on earth who
does not know God nor love Him above all
others, you must not rest for a moment;
no sacrifice, no cross, no suffering, no aban-
donment, no tribulation, no attack, nothing



40

must be too hard ... no betrayal, no faith-
lessness, no cold, no mockery should di-
minish your fire. . . . Woe to me if I do not
make Thee known to men, O my God.”

His Own
The personal activity of love of neighbor

was exercised by Father Jordan almost ex-
clusively in the narrow family circle of his
Society. He gave himself to his own. In a
manner that was most edifying he with-
drew from the outside world in order to
live unreservedly, completely, and undi-
videdly, for his spiritual sons, to whom he
wished to be all in all. He was their supe-
rior, father, counselor, comforter, and help-
er. No wonder, then, that the members of
the Society in the Motherhouse in Rome
liked to visit him regularly. They knew
that whenever they came to him he would
be ready to help them in any way in his
power. And he was so hearty about it all,
made them feel at home with him, inspired
them with confidence. Thus he instructed
them, solved their doubts and difficulties,
consoled the discouraged and the despond-
ent, and filled all with enthusiasm for their
holy vocation and the apostolate. In those
confidential talks of his he strikingly re-
vealed how well acquainted he was with
spiritual writers. Incidentally, he also

showed what a marvelous memory he had.

The Good Name

Father Jordan actually showed a tender



41

solicitude in shielding the reputation and
good name of his neighbor. He was always
anxious and on his guard not to say any-
thing in the least derogatory about others,
following in this the principle that if one
cannot say anything good about another
one should not speak about him at all. He
would tolerate neither detraction nor slan-
der. In his presence no one dared to utter
anything that might have even slightly
darkened the good name of another, much
less to say anything disparaging. When re-
ports were made to him, or official infor-
mation given, he used to interrupt the con-
versation with these words: “I take it for
granted that you are not telling me things
which I ought not to know.” Indeed, so
solicitous was he as regards the reputation
of others that he wished to have each one’s
good name safeguarded also for the future
and therefore he wrote with his own hand
on many letters in the archives of the Gen-
eralate the word “Soli” (“To him alone”),
so that later on they would not be read by
others, inasmuch as they were communica-
tions to him alone. When he simply could
not close his eyes to the existence of faults,
when it simply could not be denied that
faults had been committed, he would never-
theless emphatically and with considerable
warmth try to give a charitable interpre-
tation. Often he bitterly expressed his
indignation because so many sins were com-
mitted in the world against the eighth
commandment. Over and over again, until



42

that individual was almost sick and tired of
it, he insisted that the Secretary General
keep strictly secret anything pertaining to
the good name of others.

The Poor

As a true follower of the Savior and of
his special patron, St. Francis of Assisi,
that little poor man who so much loved
the poor, Father Jordan was also drawn in
a special way to the destitute and aban-
doned. He saw to it that they all received
an alms at the portal of the Motherhouse.
As a consequence, they daily came in great
numbers to eat a plate of soup and a piece
of bread. On the occasions when he would
make his official visitations of the Houses
he would beg and exhort the various supe-
riors to treat the poor at the door with the
utmost kindness. Everywhere and always
he manifested the greatest sympathy for
the poor. Here are a few examples of many:
A poor girl at a railway station offered
flowers for sale. Father Jordan’s compan-
ion gave the child a cold shoulder, where-
upon he told him to buy the violets, for to
buy them in this instance was the equiva-
lent to giving an alms. When in his travels
he had to eat in a restaurant with his com-
panion he always saw to it that the waiter
got a good tip. “Do give him a little more,”
he was wont to say, “it is an alms, you know;
these people need it.” A Brother della
Penitenza, as they are called, came to the
door of the Motherhouse in Rome to get



43

his usual alms. The Brother porter, how-
ever, was absent that day, so Father Jordan
gave him an order that the next time that
Brother showed up he should apologize to
him and give him a double alms. Before
making his daily visit to St. Peter’s Father
Jordan always asked the porter for two
soldi (Italian coins), so that he would have
something to give should he meet some
poor person on the way; and if it some-
times happened that he did not meet one,
he would give the two soldi back to the
Brother.

The Sick

Jesus and His Mother had a special love
for the sick; indeed the sick were the Sav-
ior’s favorites. The Gospels tell us over
and over again of how they crowded around
Him and He healed them. So, too, the sick
were included in Father Jordan’s love of
the neighbor, and that in a special way. It
was his wish that he be daily informed by
the infirmarian as to how the sick in the
House were getting along; and in case of
serious illness he desired that this informa-
tion be brought to him more than once a
day. So solicitous was he for the sick that
one of the infirmarians said it was not al-
ways easy to carry out all his wishes in
their favor, to do everything that he
wanted done for their ease and comfort.
No wonder, then, that it was a special joy
for the sick when he came to see them and,
after having spoken a few encouraging



44

words to them, gave them his blessing. It
may be remarked here that Father Jordan
had an almost excessive fear of contagion
and that, therefore, he did not visit mem-
bers afflicted with contagious sickness.
However, his reason for acting thus was not
personal interest; he thought he owed it to
the Society. But he always took all the
sick under his special protection and de-
fended them against false accusations.

Enemies

“Love your enemies; do good to them
that hate you.” Father Jordan practiced the
love of enemies in an admirable manner.
He kept a careful watch over himself and
energetically suppressed every impulse to-
wards antipathy or grudge, not to speak of
hatred. Never was he heard to utter one
word of complaint in the midst of all the
persecutions and calumnies which he had
to endure, in the midst of the misunder-
standings which arose even in the ranks of
his own spiritual sons. “The loving God
knows what it is good for,” he said; “let the
good God take care of that; all comes from
the hand of God.” He never spoke in an
uncharitable or offensive manner about
his adversaries but always found excuses
for them. “They do not mean it that way,”
he would say, or he would express his
charitable interpretation of their actions

in some other way. He also acted in that
manner towards his greatest opponents,
those who had actually inflicted bitter in-



45

justice on him. He himself never spoke un-
charitably of them nor would he tolerate
such speech in others. He readily and
gladly forgave from the heart all those who
had caused him pain. “Father, forgive
them.” He never nursed a grudge against
them but prayed for them, in imitation of
the Divine Savior.

FATHER FRANCIS JORDAN HAD A PARTICU-
LAR DEVOTION TO THE SORROWFUL MOTHER
BEFORE WHOSE STATUE HE WAS SEEN SO

FREQUENTLY.



46

The Poor Souls

Father Francis had a great love for the
Poor Souls in purgatory. In Rome, while
the bells were ringing, he recited on his‘
knees for the suffering souls the psalm De
Profundis as was customary there. In
places where that custom did not exist he
would do so after the evening Angelus. He
often exhorted his subjects to say ejacu-
latory prayers for the Poor Souls and to
give them, as he expressed it, the holy
water. He advised the Brothers to pray
with beads in hand for the Poor Souls when-
ever they happened for the moment to be
without any other occupation.

CHAPTER 9
FATHER JORDAN’S PRUDENCE
As we have said before, all Father Jor-

dan’s actions, all his thoughts and desires
were directed towards the attainment of
eternal salvation—after the greater glory
of God, of course, though in reality the
glory of God consists in knowing, loving,
and serving God here on earth and being
eternally happy with Him forever in the
life to come. With the utmost fidelity he
made use of the very best means for at-
taining this goal. As a most efficacious
means to this end, he himself practiced and
emphatically recommended to others a live-
ly faith, a faith by which they were to be



47

guided, with which they were to be imbued,
and which was to be the decisive factor in
all the problems of life. Hence, he warned
them against the prudence of the world, of
the flesh, of the intellect. Only one kind of
prudence was known to him: the prudence
of faith. But his life of faith had in it noth-
ing of the ostentatious, of the abnormal. In
all things he clung to the teachings of the
Catholic Church and the example of the
saints.

Purity of Conscience

With the greatest care he preserved
purity of conscience, which means freedom
from sin, and lived in the holy fear of God,
which means to love God as a Father and
to obey Him because we love Him. It
means fear to offend Him. His childlike
innocence shone forth from his whole be-
ing. His was an extremely tender, not to
say anxious, conscience. When some doubt
arose within him, he found no rest until he
had cleared the matter up, which as a rule
was achieved after consultation with his
advisor. This often happened during re-
creation. Whether the time or place were
opportune or inopportune, his conscience
had then and there to be put in order; he
wanted an answer to the question: “Can I
now be quiet?” And he used to say: “You
must be patient with me, God has per-
mitted it thus”—meaning that he was so
anxious. As we have said before, many
were of the opinion that he preserved his



48

baptismal innocence throughout life. In
order to avoid sin, or even faults and im-
perfections, he made use of every available
means: the presence of God, regular recep-
tion of the Sacrament of Penance, daily
examination of conscience, the faithful ful-
fillment of his duties, constant self-con-

quest, and control of the senses.

Simplicity

Father Jordan loved and practiced sim-
plicity. He was so open-hearted and un-
restrained, so simple and condescending,
that one liked to talk with him and could
do so without embarrassment. He was a
simple soul, candid, open, like a crystal
vase easily seen through. He knew no
dissimulation. There was no double-deal-
ing in his association with others, no con-
cealment. Indeed, in his relations with
others he spoke with such sincerity that
one was uneasy for fear that such openness
might do harm. Yet that so common dip-
lomatic, studied behavior was repugnant
to his honest character. From the bottom
of his heart he detested exaggerations, men-
tal reservations, restrictions, not to speak
of untruths or lies. When this writer as a
Society student once composed a letter in
the name of all the students at the Salva-
torian Seminary, St. Nazianz, Wisconsin,
congratulating him on his name day, the
Father in charge, who had associated with
Father Jordan in Rome, said: “You had
better rewrite that and make it very plain



49

and simple; Father Jordan does not like
such an exaggerated and flowery style. He
is the soul of simplicity.” Of course, as is
frequently the case with such characters,
his simplicity and blind confidence were
often abused.

Prayer

Father Jordan did nothing, decided noth-
ing, omitted nothing without having first
deliberated with God in prayer. His fore-
most concern was to know and to do the
will of God, to do only what pertained to
the greater honor and glory of God. “Pray
for me,” he said to a Brother to whom he
wished to entrust an important task, “that
the good God may enlighten me as to
whether I should send you or not.” No
doubt it was because of this spirit of prayer,
because of his utter reliance upon God in
all things, that all Father Jordan’s actions
were subjectively good. It was quite out
of the question that he would knowing-
ly go through with a perverse action.

Consulting

Father Jordan gladly made use of the
counsel of prudent and honest men. In-
deed, because of his excessive anxiety, he
did rather too much than too little in this
regard; and he thought that even in mat-
ters of minor importance he could not act
without first conferring with others. He
often prayed to God that He might make
known His will to him through such and



50

such a person. His principal counselor was
the saintly Father Bonaventure Luethen,
but he did not refuse the advice of other
and younger members, if they were ob-
servant and pious. He also consulted out-
siders, his confessor, and other pious re-
ligious. In his addresses he was fond of
referring to the advice he had received
from outsiders.

As we have said, Father Jordan was per-
sonally very anxious, indeed almost help-
less, as regards solving his own spiritual
problems. Still, others often went to him
for advice. Inasmuch as he had entirely
withdrawn from the world and mixed so
little with people outside of the cloister,
those who sought his advice were all his
spiritual sons. Very many professed mem-
bers of the Motherhouse went to him reg-
ularly on fixed days for advice and ad-
monition, some making a point of it to
go to see him weekly. Father Jordan liked
to give advice in short pithy sayings that
could be easily remembered, such as,
“Build the edifice of sanctity upon prayer,
work, silence and mortification.” - “You
must grow strong by prayer and humility.”
- “Expend all in order to save all!” To a
Superior he once said: “He governs well
who governs as little as possible.” - “Hu-
mility and modesty are apt to make you
loved everywhere in your future activity.”
It is worthy of note that in his great hu-
mility he looked upon the saintly Father
Bonaventure Luethen as far superior to



51

himself as a counselor; for this reason he
sent his spiritual sons to him again and
again. Father Jordan always thought things
over well before he gave any advice; first
there was mature consideration and then
he gave a keen and quiet decision. And
not infrequently it happened that he told
others who asked his advice to come back
later on, saying that he first wished to con-
sider the matter well before God and then
also consult others, in case he should con-
sider it feasible to do so.

His Use of Time

Father Jordan was utterly convinced of
the value of time, realizing with the saints
that time is the stuff we purchase eternity
with. He accordingly tried, prudently and
with keen supernatural calculation, to
make the very best use of it. For him there
were only two occupations, and these two
demanded every minute of every day, and
every year of his whole life. These can be
summed up in the phrase: Pray and work!
When he prayed, he worked; and when he
worked, he prayed. He wished his spiritual
sons to imitate him in this. He was wont
to say: “Work, pray for the salvation of im-
mortal souls!” He never thought of relax-
ing or of taking a vacation. Unless he had
to make his official visitation tours, he even
spent the hot summer months in Rome. He
was very solicitous that none of the busi-
ness matters which came up each day re-
mained unfinished. Hence, early in the



52

morning he discussed the correspondence
with a certain Father who acted as his
secretary and arranged to dispose of all
such matters as soon as possible. A remark
with which his secretary was well ac-
quainted because it dropped from his lips
with such expected regularity, was: “Yes,
my dear, we must work harder still; one
could do so much and accomplish so much.”
Those who had the happiness to hear him
speak knew full well how sternly he lashed
out at idleness in his addresses.

We close this chapter by remarking that
Father Jordan was so extraordinarily con-
scientious that he employed every possible
care in order to proceed with prudence and
caution in the exercise of his office. It can
be said without exaggeration that in most
cases he did not make a decision alone, out
of fear that he might commit an error, but
sought the advice of others. Naturally this
cautious procedure of his was often re-
garded as irresolution; he was severely
criticized for his hesitancy, for his inability,

as some thought, to stand on his own feet.
Though his sensitive nature suffered much
from these accusations, he could not be pre-
vailed upon to change his method, his way
of action, and continued to make every
effort to act prudently in the Lord in all
affairs and to discharge his duties faith-
fully.



CHAPTER 10

FATHER JORDAN’S JUSTICE
Father Jordan always took pains to prac-

tice the virtue of justice, to give to every
one what was his due: to God, to the saints,
to the neighbor, to superiors and subjects,
to friends and benefactors, to enemies and
adversaries - to all without exception, to
all without distinction.

Above all, of course, he rendered due
obedience to Almighty God. So sacred to
him were the commandments of God that
he would have given up his life rather than
slight or transgress even one of them. God’s
will, God’s guidance, God’s providence in
the arrangement of things were to him the
only rule of conduct in his life, even though
the greatest sacrifices were connected with
it. He also paid due veneration to God by
his life of prayer, by the practice of walk-
ing in God’s presence, inasmuch as he
labored tirelessly by word and deed for
the greater honor and glory of God.

After satisfying the demands of justice
as regards Almighty God, he also rendered
to the saints the veneration that was due
to them and often gave evidence of if in a
most simple and childlike manner. His
favorite saints were the Blessed Virgin
Mary, St. Joseph, St. Michael, the holy
Apostles, St. John the Baptist, St. Francis
of Assisi, and the Guardian Angel. He
venerated the relics of the saints, whom he

53



54

invoked with great reverence and confi-
dence. It was he who introduced into the
Society a special feast with Office and
Mass in honor of all the sacred relics which
are preserved in the churches of the So-
ciety. On his desk he always kept a relic
of St. Francis of Assisi, his patron saint. He
was very happy in the knowledge that
there were so many relics in various Houses
of the Society. On feast days he sent the
professed members to the churches of the
Eternal City to venerate the relics of the
saints.

Father Jordan obeyed the laws and or-
dinances of the Church to the minutest de-
tail; indeed, as regards this matter he rec-
ognized no difference between important
and unimportant things. Herein he prac-
ticed in a special way his fidelity to little
things, and he did it in a most edifying
manner. He conscientiously observed the
sacred customs and ceremonies prescribed
by the Church so that ordinary devotions
were to him just as holy and venerable as
the important rubrics of Holy Mass, the
breviary, etc. This attitude of his mani-
fested itself in his reverential genuflection

before the Blessed Sacrament, in the de-
vout way in which he made the sign of the
cross, in the respectful inclination of the

head at the Holy Name, at the Glory be
to the Father, etc., in the frequent use of

holy water, in the spirit of faith, in the de-
vout wearing of the scapular, in the use of
the Catholic salutation “Praised be Jesus



55

Christ.” This approved and indulgenced
Christian salutation, by the way, was the
one that he always used, indeed the only
one that he used. And it was his wish that
others use it also.

One of the obligations of every priest is
the daily recitation of the Divine Office,
or breviary, as a public person and in the
name of the Church. Father Jordan was
very conscientious about this duty, fulfill-
ing it with care until the doctor forbade
him to say it during his last sickness a few
months before his death. When the Office
was being said in choir he assisted at that
service with great punctuality, never com-
ing late, and usually being the first or at
least one of the first. He recited the brevi-
ary with such devotion and fervor as even
sometimes to move others to tears. Even
in choir he himself looked up every anti-
phon and commemoration and joined in
their recitation; this he did so distinctly,
with so much recollection and devotion,
and with such a pious posture that it called
forth the admiration of all, even if it did
not l^ad to imitation. The saints, it is said,
are in some instances to be admired indeed
but not to be imitated. He never lifted his
eyes from his breviary except in choir
after the silent prayers, which he recited
turned towards the tabernacle. All this he
did with such exemplary exactness as to
pronunciation and the observance of the
rubrics that it could scarcely have been
done any better. Since the recitation of the



56

Divine Office in choir was then the general
rule of the Houses of the Society, Father
Jordan said the breviary privately only in
case of urgent necessity. When he was pre-
vented from attending choir he asked a
Father to come and pray with him, so that
there would be at least a choir of two, if a
choir that may be called. He regarded
prayer in common as a sort of guarantee of
a more correct recitation, about which he
was always very solicitous. He was accus-
tomed to ask the Father afterwards wheth-
er he had recited everything correctly or
whether he had forgotten or missed any-
thing.

Father Jordan was affable and kind to
all; affability was a striking trait of his
character. All, even the least novice, could
approach him at any time; and all were
ever received in an amiable and friendly
way. He was so courteous that he would
return in a most pleasant way every salu-
tation, even that of a child; politeness and
courtesy were noble blossoms of his hum-
ble heart, of his tender sense of justice. He
was very sociable and condescending and
could converse with an ordinary man just
as affably as with one of his own standing.
In his association with people he was so
plain, simple, and unassuming that some
persons only afterwards found out with
whom they were talking. Such instances,
as matters of general interest and edifi-
cation, .were sometimes even mentioned
in the press.



57

One of Father Jordan’s maxims was:
“Rather suffer injustice than commit injus-
tice.” This he impressed upon his subjects
again and again. He carefully respected
and upheld the rights of his neighbor, who-
ever he might be; he made it a matter of
conscience to render to every one that
honor and esteem which was due to him
according to his rank and dignity, age and
position.

Father Jordan was filled with profound
and sincere gratitude towards his bene-
factors, both his personal ones and those of
the Society. He prayed much for them and
caused others to pray for them. He intro-
duced into his Society the custom of pray-
ing twice every day in common for the
benefactors in these words: “Let us pray
for all the benefactors of the whole Society
both the living and the dead.” He would
not permit any change in this formula,
every word had to be used so that the duty
of gratitude towards both the living and the
dead might each time be fully called to
mind. In his addresses he never tired of re-
minding his subjects of the duty of thank-
fulness; and he warned them of that vice
which is called black ingratitude. He liked
to quote the words of the saintly Faber:
“An extraordinarily thankful man will soon-
er become holy than he who scourges him-
self, sleeps on boards, is beaten by the
devil, and has visions of the Mother of
God.” He made it a point regularly to visit
the dignitaries of the Church in whose



58

dioceses the Society worked, whenever they
were staying in Rome, in order to thank
them for their benevolence. With stern
severity and conscientiousness he insisted
upon using all alms that were given accord-
ing to the wish and will of the benefactors;
and he kept a strict watch over this. All
donations had to be gratefully acknowl-
edged at once, as was well known by those
who had to attend to the correspondence
with benefactors.

It almost goes without saying, then, that
Father Jordan endeavored to discharge
with utmost exactness all the duties of his
office as Superior General and as a re-
ligious. In this matter he did not spare him-
self in any way. Self-indulgence was a
stranger to him.

In concluding this chapter on Father
Jordan’s justice we may recall that he was
a lover of the truth in the highest degree
and deeply detested all duplicity, hypo-
crisy, and dissimulation. Even as a student
he gave clear evidence of his veracity. So,
for instance, we know that in the written
exercise for the final examination in mathe-
matics when he was still attending college,
he simply handed in a blank sheet because
he would not stoop so low as to copy the
solution of the problems from the paper of
another student. Such honesty, by the way,
did not fail to make a favorable impres-
sion on the board of examiners, and so he
had nevertheless graduated. To some per-
sons his love for truth appeared to be ex-



59

aggerated; thus his secretaries had to re-
v/rite many letters until they were accus-
tomed to express themselves correctly and
unequivocally. To cite but one example, a
secretary wrote: “The venerable Father
thanks you with all his heart.” This ex-
pression was not tolerated, did not pass,
because Father Jordan was afraid it might
involve an exaggeration. His objection was:
“How can one say, ‘with all his heart?”

CHAPTER 11
FATHER JORDAN’S TEMPERANCE
There can be no doubt that Father Jor-

dan practiced the virtue of temperance and
of self-conquest in an eminent way. He
was admired by all as a man of constant
mortification and self-denial. From his
early years he tried to subdue all inordi-
nate emotions. As an instance in point we
may recall that at college he had no inter-
est in mathematics and that when the pro-
fessor of mathematics noticed this he
treated him very rudely and unkindly,
making caustic remarks about his former
trade as traveling journeyman and alluding
in an offensive manner to his future calling
as a theologian and a priest; all of which
John Baptist Jordan bore in silent patience.
His fellow students could testify that they
never heard an unkind word from his lips
about that professor. His was a choleric



60

and irritable temperament, but he sup-
pressed it with unflagging energy in the
spirit of the Ignatian plan: “To act against.”
Considering the innumerable times when
he had to face unpleasantness, contradic-
tion, adversity, suspicion, and calumny, one
can easily understand what a struggle he
had in order to keep himself under con-
trol, to act quietly, and to answer calmly.
It was great virtue manifesting itself in the
midst of great adversities.

Father Jordan was abstemious, frugal,
and quite indifferent in regard to food and
drink. No doubt he would gladly have gone
to great lengths in this phase of mortifica-
tion, had it not been for his weak stomach.
Because of this digestive trouble he was
not able to practice extraordinary fasting.
As a matter of fact, it was because of his
too great abstemiousness in his youth that
he had ruined his stomach. However as a
religious he always took his meals with the
community and did not like to make any
exception unless it was absolutely neces-
sary. The meal placed before him at table
was like that of the least novice in the
house. He never used butter or honey on
his bread, even when traveling; and it was
of no use to urge him to do so. Though he
did not wish to make exceptions as regards
food, he nevertheless humbly and readily
followed the guidance of Father Bonaven-
ture, who used to sit at his right. He did
not pay any attention as to whether things
were palatable or not; his only concern was



61

whether or not because of his physical
condition, he was allowed to eat them. In
case of doubt he simply looked at Father
Bonaventure and if the latter disapproved
he did not take the food, nor did he ask for
something else. He strictly observed the
fast days prescribed by the Church; and on
such days, for breakfast, he often took only
half of the little piece of bread allowed and
weighed beforehand.

As long as he lived Father Jordan did
not allow himself much sleep. In the early
years of his life, as we have seen, he studied
and worked far into the night. Later on,
his strained and shattered nerves brought
about the condition of insomnia, so much
so that only towards morning could he fall
asleep. Nevertheless he arose with the com-
munity at 4:30 in the morning and kept
this up until the doctor ordered him to
take better care of his health. His bed was
a simple wooden frame, a mattress and a
pillow, stuffed with seagrass, and one blan-
ket. It was no better than the bed of the
other members. When a Brother wanted
to give him a new mattress he refused to
take it.

He was exceedingly economical with his
clothes; they were simple, unpretentious,
and often just about worn out; but they
had to be both clean and neatly mended.
He was very reluctant to put on new
clothes and did so only for special reasons,
for instance when he was about to under-
take a long journey. His cell, the little



62

room that he occupied, was a model of
simplicity. In it he would not tolerate any
superfluous objects or those tending to
comfort. He occupied only one room,
which served both as study and bedroom;
and it was never heated. He could never
be induced to use an easy chair; a simple
chair with a straw seat sufficed for him.
He had no wardrobe but only a wooden
frame with a curtain. Instead of a prie-dieu
he used a board placed on the stone floor.

Finally, to conclude these remarks on
Father Jordan’s temperance, we may brief-
ly recall that with tireless watchfulness he
kept his senses in check and did not yield to
any sensual desires. His custody of the eyes
was especially noticeable. He faithfully ob-
served religious silence and insisted on its
observance on the part of others, imme-
diately reprimanding its violators. He
deeply loved solitude, seclusion, and the
hidden life. Earnestness and modesty were
manifested in his whole being, in his bear-
ing, in his gait. Jokingly he said: “A re-
ligious ought not to run, even though there
is a fire somewhere.” There was about him
an atmosphere of prudent moderation and
religious restraint.

CHAPTER 12
FATHER JORDAN’S FORTITUDE
It called for a high degree of the virtue

of fortitude to follow God’s call to the



63

priesthood when he was already advanced
in age. Nevertheless he overcame all ob-
stacles with unswerving energy. Unmind-
ful of mockery and scorn, he, a full grown
man, took his place among the boys at
school who were so much younger than he.
All he had in view was the sublime goal of
the holy priesthood. For its attainment he
had to make and did make innumerable
sacrifices. It took real courage for Father
Jordan as a young priest to set to work with
such heroic energy in the establishment of
his foundation, which he recognized to be
the will of God. Once he was convinced
that it was the will of God, nothing could
discourage him, not even the plain re-
marks of his priest friends who bluntly told
him that he was not fit for such a task.
Again, it required more than ordinary cour-
age to approach the Holy Father, Leo XIII,
to place his plans and intentions before
him, and ask for his approval and blessing
- and all this hardly two years after his
ordination.

Then came the difficulties and cares so
inevitably connected with his position as
Founder and with his office as Superior
General of a new religious congregation,
all of which he bore with great fortitude.
No sacrifice was too hard, no efforts too
great, no cross and suffering too pressing
for the furtherance of God’s honor and the
salvation of souls. And when God sent him
an abundance of extraordinary trials he
bore them all with energy, courage; and



64

confidence, never uttering a word of com-
plaint amidst the numberless troubles from
within and without. He never lost heart
either under the burden of his labors or in
his interior trials and exterior difficulties,
such as those which came to him during
the many years of the apostolic visitation,
those that arose from a lack of health,
lack of new vocations. Nothing could make
him despondent, nothing could shake his
confidence in God.

All his life long Father Jordan mani-
fested great zeal for the rights of the

Church and valiantly defended them; and
this he did with deep interior conviction
and with apostolic frankness and fortitude.
Indeed it was precisely for this purpose
that he founded his Society, inasmuch as

*

he saw the Church persecuted by the Kul-
turkampf in Germany, of which he himself
was a victim, and because he wished to
oppose that godless endeavor with a band
of apostolic men. He never grew weary of
exhorting and animating his spiritual sons
to be true children of Holy Mother Church,
dauntless champions of her rights. He al-
ways visibly rejoiced and smiled when the
choir of the Motherhouse on the occasion
of some feast or celebration sang the hymn:
“To arms for Christ, soldiers! Give battle
for God!”
To the very end of his life Father Jordan

persevered in the practice of virtue. His
example of virtue is an inexhaustible herit-
age which he bequeathed to his spiritual



65

sons. No one could ever notice in him any
slackening in his striving after perfection.

With an iron will, he clung to his princi-
ples to the very last, as we find them in
his notes. He prayed much and continually
for the grace of perseverance and pointed
out its necessity with emphatic words. In-
deed, so much and so constantly did he
pray that a priest who knew him intimately
once said of him: “If I would practice so
many and such intensive prayers, acts of
virtues and ejaculations, I would have been
put in an insane asylum a long time ago.” -

Here it may be mentioned in passing that
Father Jordan once found it necessary to
make official use of the exorcism of the
Church over a possessed member of the
Society, during which exorcism he had to
endure various molestations from the devil.

Never was Father Jordan influenced by
human respect. Neither the high rank of a
person, nor disagreeable and even painful
consequences that might come to himself,
nor the hardest sacrifices and difficulties,
in a word, no human consideration or earth-
ly calculations could divert him from the
fulfillment of his duty. Irrespective of

man’s criticism or talk, taunts or sneers, he
looked only to God’s command and God’s
will.

We conclude this brief chapter on Father
Jordan’s fortitude by recalling how bril-
liantly that fortitude was demonstrated in
his last illness, which he endured with
edifying patience and resignation, never



66

uttering the least complaint. All of which
is beautifully summed up in the words
which he said to the infirmarian who ex-
pressed compassion because he suffered so
much: “Well, it is all right, if it but pleases
the loving God.” This fortitude in his last
days was all the more admirable since, be-
cause of World War I which had sent him
into exile, special circumstances rich in
sacrifices surrounded his last illness.

CHAPTER 13
FATHER JORDAN’S OBSERVANCE
OF THE VOWS OF POVERTY,
CHASTITY AND OBEDIENCE

Poverty

Father Jordan looked upon poverty as
the foundation of the religious life; he,
therefore, made it the groundwork of his
foundation. As long as he lived the Mother-
house was actually a place of poverty, both
as regards the manner in which the reli-
gious life was lived there and as regards
the furnishings of the House in general. Be-
cause of his great love of poverty he chose
the little poor man, St. Francis of Assisi, as
his special patron; and that is why he took
the name of Francis in religion. He kept
far away from his Society every species of
luxury, every worldly pleasure. This he
did first of all as regards his own person,
thus becoming a shining example to all. He



67

would have liked to live with his com-
panions on alms alone, but ecclesiastical
authority would not permit that. Never-
theless, he personally undertook several
journeys for the purpose of soliciting alms
and thus did actually go out on begging
tours. He made it a point not to admit
anybody to the holy vows unless he had
clear evidence that the person concerned
really possessed the spirit of poverty. He
never carried money on his person; in
every single instance when he needed some
money he asked the procurator or the por-
ter for it. He never asked for more money
than he actually needed at the moment; if
he needed, let us say one quarter, he would
not accept two quarters. It is not too much
to say that he thoroughly detested pocket
money. His love of poverty was touchingly
demonstrated when, in his last sickness, he
was transferred to the hospital at Tafers
in Switzerland which also served as a home
for the poor. “Well,” he said with evident
satisfaction, “I am now among the poor.”

As already intimated elsewhere, Father
Jordan liked to use worn-out and mended
clothes; the plainer and poorer they were
the more pleased he was with them; but
they had to be clean. On his passage to
America in 1896 he wore such poor gar-
ments that in New York some people had
to lend him better clothes so that he could
visit the Most Reverend Archbishop.
The room which a religious occupies in

a monastery or religious house is frequent-



68

ly called the cell. It is edifying to recall
how extremely clean and simple, how de-
void of all comfort, not to speak of luxury,
was Father Jordan’s cell in the Mother-
house at Rome. That one room served as
his study and his bedroom. In it were one
table, one standing desk, one rack for
clothes, two chairs, and a plain wooden
bed — that was all. He would not permit
the exchange of an old chair for a better
one. All the other things that he used were
characterized by the same simplicity: his
traveling bag was old-fashioned; he never
used a breviary with gilt edges; during his
last illness someone wanted to buy a little
standing clock for him to be placed beside
his bed so that he could more easily see
what time it was, but he refused to give
his consent.

Father Jordan also practiced holy pover-
ty by taking the best possible care of all
the things that he used; he would handle
things carefully, preserve them neatly, and
employ them economically. For making
notes and sketches of his addresses and
discourses he made use of old envelopes
and small pieces of paper on which he
wrote wherever he could find a little blank
space. A piece of shoe string served as a
watch chain. For sharpening a pencil he
used a pocket knife. These are but a few
of the many ways in which he proved his
love of poverty.

As he lived a life of exemplary poverty
himself, so Father Jordan demanded of his



69

subordinates that they conscientiously ob-

serve this holy vow. In his addresses he
never grew tired of extolling the grandeur
of holy poverty, of eloquently inciting his

spiritual sons to a greater love for the same.
In training and educating the members of
his Society in this regard, he often put
them to hard tests - indeed, to tests that
were too hard, as some said, especially
when new Houses were founded. On the
occasion of his official visitations of the

Houses, he had a watchful eye for any
abuses or violations in the matter of pover-
ty. So, for example, he permitted only red-
edged breviaries. In one House he found
little brass stands for knives, forks, and
spoons, which had to be removed at once,
though they had been donated by a bene-
factor. The above few remarks are sufficient
to give us an idea of Father Jordan’s prac-
tice of poverty. In his high esteem and love
of poverty he was but imitating the Divine
Savior, the great model and teacher of
every virtue; and he always reminded his
subordinates of this sublime, unattainable
Exemplar. “If we desire to follow our Di-
vine Savior,” he would say, “if we desire
to become saints, if we desire to convert
the world, oh, then let us be poor!”

Chastity

Father Jordan safeguarded and pre-
served purity of body and soul not only
with scrupulous conscientiousness but even
with the greatest anxiety. He made upon



70

all the impression of an angel in the flesh.
Even his greatest enemies never attacked
him on this point nor accused him in the
least.

Of course it goes without saying that he
sedulously employed every means for the
preservation of chastity, especially constant

and fervent prayer. He observed strict
moderation in food and drink and sleep. He
kept his body in hard subjection, being a
decided enemy of comfort and effeminacy
in any form. His whole exterior bespoke
modesty and restraint of the senses. He
genuinely detested idleness, always keep-
ing himself busy, and never granting him-
self a moment’s rest.
The way in which Father Jordan con-

trolled his eyes, practiced custody of the
eyes, as the expression has it, was rather
unusual and striking. He never went about
with eyes surveying everything within view
but with eyes modestly cast down. If one
happened to address him outside his room
he would be startled, inasmuch as he was
always so interiorly recollected and would
hardly notice when a person came near
him. One could never see him looking
about curiously. When he noticed anything
even remotely objectionable in a book or
in the street, etc., he at once turned his eyes
away, not infrequently in a conspicuous
way, and said some ejaculatory prayers.

In accordance with the spirit of chastity,
Father Jordan insisted with unflinching
severity that the laws of enclosure be ob-



71

served. According to his ordinance no wom-
en were allowed to enter or to stay even in
the passage or courtyard of the monastery.
The entrance to the parlor for women was
outside the monastery door. As far as he
himself was concerned, Father Jordan
avoided practically all association with
women. He did not like to go to the parlor
and did so only when it was absolutely
necessary. In conversation with women he
was extremely reserved and short, so much
so that sometimes women who had been
benefactors of the Society for long years
felt somewhat offended that when in their
company in the parlor he would not so
much as look at them but always direct his
gaze past them or keep his eyes cast down.
But though they even complained about
this, he did not change his manner of act-
ing. He never wanted to be nursed by per-
sons of the other sex, not even in his last
sickness. However, since this simply could
not be helped when because of circum-
stances he had to be taken to the hospital
at Tafers, which was conducted by Sisters,
he settled the matter with his customary
expression of confidence and resignation:
“The good God will help.”

Because he was so very concerned about
keeping away from his subordinates every-
thing that might endanger the virtue of
chastity, Father Jordan was extremely ear-
nest when dealing with this subject in his
exhortations in the Chapter of Faults. For
that reason also he gave strict orders that



72

the members were not to take off the re-
ligious garb without necessity, especially
when traveling, because in the religious
habit he saw a real guardian angel, so to
speak, a protection, an incentive to reserve.
For the same reason he liked it better when
professed members went out for a walk in
the open air, if they took this relaxation
out in the country or in less frequented
places rather than along the streets where
there were many people moving to and fro.

Obedience

Poverty is enumerated as the first of the
three vows in most religious constitutions
where the three vows are mentioned. It is
fundamental, though chastity may be more
heroic and obedience is the greatest sacri-
fice. As regards Father Jordan’s obedience
it can be said that he most conscientiously
observed the prescriptions and constitu-
tions which he himself had given to the
Society; even the most zealous novice
could not have observed them more per-
fectly. In this way his good example and
his virtuous life became a living commen-
tary on the religious statutes. In a circular
letter to the members of the Society he
made the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori
his own: “A transgression (of the rules)
causes me greater pain than a hundred
persecutions.” He responded to the sound
of the bell for the common spiritual exer-
cises (choir, examination of conscience,
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, etc.)



73

with that punctuality which is prescribed in
the rule, wherein it is said that at the sound
of the bell one should immediately go to
that to which he is called, leaving even the
letter of the alphabet unfinished in case

one is writing a word. Knowing that in
responding to the call of the bell he was
actually responding to the voice of God,
he was wont to go to the chapel, for in-
stance, at a pace more brisk than one
would expect, considering his age and the
state of his health. In a spirit of holy obe-
dience he observed religious silence with
scrupulous care always and everywhere.
So eager was he not to miss an exercise that
was held in common that he earnestly tried
to prevent any one coming to him with an
important matter shortly before such an
exercise was to begin; the reason for this
was that he did not want to be kept away
from the spiritual exercises nor be dis-
turbed or distracted in them by some half-
settled affair. For the same reason impor-
tant letters had to be written and mailed
before the spiritual exercises. In a word,
when at prayer he wished to be free from
all other thoughts and to commune with
God alone. His love for religious observ-
ance shone forth in all splendor in the
prescribed discourses at the Chapter of
Faults, which he himself gave regularly in
the Motherhouse for many years. So, too,
in a spirit of obedience he made the canoni-
cal visitation of all the Houses and Colleges
regularly, although this involved many and



74

great sacrifices in view of the precarious
state of his health, such as frequent changes
of climate, of food, of environment, as well
as the tiring journeys during which he al-
ways traveled third class, etc.

Father Jordan was the Founder and first
Superior General of the Society of the
Divine Savior; hence, his own superiors
were the ecclesiastical authorities, to whose
will he readily and gladly submitted at all
times. In this regard he had to face hard
trials; but he always stood the test as, for in-
stance, when he would have liked to intro-
duce a stricter degree of poverty but met
with a refusal; when the apostolic visitator
attacked, and that in a most offensive man-
ner, many of his cherished views. He al-
ways humbly subjected himself and obeyed
under all circumstances and at the cost of
heavy sacrifice, true to his plan: “We wish
to do nothing but what the Church wishes.”
Whenever circumstances or other mat-

ters in question permitted, Father Jordan
did not insist on his own will and often
obeyed his subordinates, frequently asking
them for advice, willingly and thankfully
accepting their instructions. An example
in point is the following incident. During a
visitation Father Jordan could not make
up his mind to see a doctor, so the superior,
in order to get him to make a decision in
the matter, told him outright: “I command
you to go with me at once to see the doc-
tor.” Without saying a word Father Jordan
put on his mantle, went with him to the



75

doctor, and received the necessary exami-
nation and treatment. When this was done
he thanked the superior and said: “It is
always good to be obedient.” He considered
himself bound in conscience to obey the
doctor and infirmarian.

CHAPTER 14
FATHER JORDAN’S HUMILITY
In his deep humility Father Jordan did

not consider himself worthy of any esteem.
Far from desiring marks of respect, he
actually disliked them, as far as he himself
was concerned, and tried as much as pos-
sible to avoid them. It was only for the
sake of the community that he permitted
celebrations in his honor, for instance on
his name day or on a jubilee, otherwise he
would have preferred to withdraw from
them. On the other hand, he rejoiced with
a childlike disinterestedness when his
spiritual sons were praised or honored. He
always felt quite embarrassed when marks
of respect were shown him, so much so,
indeed, that on certain occasions when an
armchair would be placed for him, he
would not sit down in it but would remain
standing beside it, if such a procedure were
at all possible.

He looked upon himself as a great sin-
ner. It was to his sinfulness that he attri-
buted the mistakes that had been made in



76

the foundation and development of his
Society and the trials which it had to under-
go. He was wont to utter earnest warnings
against judging the faults of one’s neighbor
with severity, inasmuch as we do not know
whether or not we ourselves are going to
fall more deeply on the morrow. Again and
again one could hear from him the humble
confession: “I am but a sinner.” In the hu-
mility of his heart he always showed an
admirable readiness to apologize when he
thought he had offended anybody.

Father Jordan was very much concerned
about concealing his saintly life and his
virtues; and because of this anxiety he tried
to hide from the eyes of others his progress
in the religious life. He endeavored to be
quite ordinary in everything, avoiding

striking acts of virtue. Only on rare oc-
casions could one notice some greater mor-
tification which he practiced. In keeping
with these sentiments of his, he also ad-
monished his subordinates to avoid every-
thing eccentric and to be very faithful in
the discharge of their ordinary duties, to do
the ordinary things of everyday life in an
extraordinarily faithful way. When he no-
ticed that someone was practicing some
extraordinary and public mortification with
too much zeal and that such a one was hop-
ing to introduce the practice into the com-
munity, he severely forbade it. Those who
from time to time came upon him sudden-
ly and surprised him in the exercise of par-
ticular virtues, were commanded by him



77

never to mention anything about what they
saw. He spoke little of himself and neither
sought nor desired praise or recognition

from others. He considered all that he did,
all that he suffered as a matter-of-fact task
imposed upon him by God and not deserv-
ing of any special attention. He made these
words of the Divine Savior his own: “And
you, in the same way, when you have done
all that was commanded you, are to say, We
are servants, and worthless; it was our duty
to do what we had done.” (Luke 17:10.)

Father Jordan was the Founder of the
Society of the Divine Savior and its Su-
perior General and yet he did not regard
himself as lord and master but rather as
the servant of all. He was humble and con-
descending towards everyone, benevolent
and friendly to all, even towards the least
novice, the youngest postulant. Far from
being above such a thing as asking advice
of others, he liked to do so and often sought
the advice of even his subordinates, es-
pecially in matters of conscience; and hav-
ing obtained advice in these matters, he fol-
lowed it conscientiously even if it did not
tally with his own opinion. In a word, he
had greater confidence in the judgment of
others than in his own. In his capacity as
Superior he never gave short, snappy, ar-
rogant, or even cold orders; his wishes were
always expressed in the form of a petition,
such as: “Be so kind as . . . Could you per-
haps . . .” Added to all this, he had such a
humble and affable character that one



78

liked to be in his company, to bask, as it
were, in the sunshine of his amiability. In
his addresses at the Chapter of Faults he
often and lovingly turned to the Brothers
with words of unusual friendliness; for the
Brothers were especially dear to his heart
because of their lowly position and their
hard and unpleasant manual labor. During
his last illness, not long before his death,
he sent special greetings and salutations
to the Italian Brothers in Rome.
To bring this brief chapter on Father

Jordan’s humility to a close, we now ad-
duce a number of other ways in which this
virtue manifested itself in his life. In the
first years of his religious life, when his
health was still sturdy enough, he ate his
dinner at the penance table on every Good
Friday. One time when the Father who was
acting as his secretary and who was carry-
ing on the extensive correspondence with
benefactors complained that his index fin-
ger pained him from so much writing, Fa-
ther Jordan said to him: “I would like to kiss
that finger”; whereupon the Father felt very
much ashamed, overwhelmed by the tone
of humility and gratitude contained in that
brief remark. When Father Jordan was al-
ready 70 years old he once went up the
stairs to the fifth story of the house at five
o’clock in the morning to see a young Father
who had his room there and to beg his par-
don for an innocent remark with which he
thought he had probably offended him the
day before. After having resigned as Su-



79

perior General (though at the wish of the
Society he retained that title until death),
he manifested such a modest, humble, and
obedient attitude towards his successor
that the latter was often quite ashamed. It
may also be considered an act of heroic
humility that Father Jordan dedicated
himself with such complete and unreserved
devotion to the duties and obligations of a
founder of a religious congregation, allotted
to him by Divine Providence, when he
might have excelled in other spheres, gain-
ing for himself, for instance, laurels as a

genius in languages, of which he knew
about 50, some, of course, less well than
others; but, as a matter of fact, in his later
life, no one ever heard him make a remark
about his linguistic abilities.

CHAPTER 15
FATHER JORDAN’S

SUPERNATURAL GIFTS
Father Jordan was endowed by God

with supernatural gifts. These supernatural
gifts together with his practice of virtue
gave him a reputation for sanctity.
No doubt, that remarkable occurrence at

his first Holy Communion, which we have
mentioned at the beginning of this bi-
ography, namely the appearance of a white
dove which fluttered above his head, was
a mysterious token of grace from heaven.



80

As we have already seen, he was dis-
tinguished in a particular way by the gift
of prayer and union with God, so that he
could remain in prayer for a long time and
without fatigue and, as if detached from
exterior things, could not be disturbed.
Those around him got the impression that
he always lived in the presence of God.
Naturally, then, all had the greatest con-
fidence in his prayers. Father Jordan’s
prayers were heard by God in a wonderful
way. As an instance in point, we may men-
tion the time when he was in great need of
money and went to the chapel to pray.
After having thus prayed, he walked up
and down in the corridor as though waiting
for help to come. The door bell rang; he
himself opened the door; and a Trinitarian
handed him a letter which contained ex-
actly the required sum. After the bearer
of the letter had disappeared all inquiries
made at the Trinitarians about him proved
in vain. The identity of the mysterious
messenger was never ascertained.

Father Jordan also received special in-
terior illuminations. So, for instance, one
day he unexpectedly went to Tivoli where
the Society had a House of Studies. After
leaving the railway station he went first
to the Sisters’ convent, a thing which other-
wise he never did. In the convent Sister
Clara Rheinwald was sick, but nobody
thought that there was any danger of death.
As this Sister had repeatedly expressed the
desire to take her holy vows before death,



81

Father Jordan then and there received
them; and while he was still present the
Sister passed away. This was on July 26,
1892.

Also Father Jordan’s blessing had an ex-
traordinary efficacy. Brother Alexius Ber-
ger (who died at the Salvatorian Mission
House, Elkton, Maryland, Dec. 11, 1945)
had been suffering from a severe throat
disease so that he could take liquid food
only. In his distress he went to Father
Jordan, who playfully reproached him for
not having come earlier. Then he asked the
Brother to kneel down, placed his hands
upon his head, and blessed him.,. The fol-
lowing morning all the symptons had dis-
appeared and Brother Alexius could eat
again just as before his sickness.

CHAPTER 16
FATHER JORDAN’S DEATH

By March, 1918, Father Jordan’s health,
which since the days of his youth had been
none too good, failed rapidly. On May 28
of that year he had so serious a spell of
weakness that at the advice of the doctor
the Last Sacraments were administered to
him. Thereupon he recovered somewhat.
But on June 25 he said his last Mass. After
that he received Holy Communion daily
with the greatest devotion. He continued
to recite the breviary daily until the doctor



THE FOUNDER, FATHER FRANCIS OF THE
CROSS JORDAN, DURING HIS LATER YEARS.



83

expressly told him that he was forbidden
to say it any longer.

Ordinarily, no doubt, Father Jordan
would have stayed at home during his last
illness and would have died there; but be-
cause all the members capable of nursing
the sick had been drafted for military ser-
vice in World War I, it was absolutely
necessary that he be taken to a hospital.
The decision was made in favor of the sim-
ple hospital at Tafers, near Fribourg, Switz-
erland, under the direction of the Sisters of
St. Vincent de Paul, which, at the same
time, served as a home for poor aged peo-
ple. On August 26, 1918, an automobile
brought the patient there. When he saw
the poor old people sitting on benches in
front of the house he said with evident joy:
“Well, now I am among the poor.”

Father Jordan spent the last days of his
illness in complete resignation to God’s holy
will, in calm patience, in edifying unpre-
tentiousness. He was frequently seized by
intense suffering, which came upon him
suddenly. One could notice these spells of
sharp pain in his face, yet no sound of com-
plaint came from his lips. Most of the time
he lay unconscious and breathed heavily
while the lungs were filling with phlegm,
which slowly led to death by suffocation.
Both during the moments of unconscious-
ness and also when in a slumbering state he
was always at prayer, making his usual
ejaculations: “God is good - Thy will be
done - Jesus, I love Thee - Nolo peccare



84

(I do not want to sin),” etc. During one of
his last days he said all of a sudden without
any exterior occasion having been given for
the remark: “I forgive all those who have
offended me, and I beg of all those whom I
have offended that they forgive me.” On
another occasion he said: “Remember this:
God’s ways are not our ways and His
thoughts are not our thoughts. One must
let himself be guided by Providence and
take good care not to cross it. Many have
already lost patience and remained stand-
ing on a way half traversed. If one per-
severes, a solution will finally be found.”
When asked whether he had any wish

that might be granted him, he answered,
looking up cheerfully: “Ah, what should I
still wish for myself on earth! I no longer
take part in affairs. ‘The Lord has given,
the Lord has taken away, blessed be’ . . .”

His weakness prevented him from finishing
the sentence.

At another time he remarked: “The good
Lord will make everything turn out right;
others will come and be mindful of our
suffering and continue the work.”
When a nursing Sister asked him to pray

for her once he should be in heaven, he
answered: “Sister, the mercy of the Lord it
is if we get to heaven. The mercy of the
Lord.” His most frequent prayers and aspi-
rations were: “My Jesus, I love Thee! -
Everything as God wills it! God is so good,
may His will be done!”
The abdominal disease from which Fa-



85

ther Jordan suffered was the worst of its
kind according to the dictum of the nurs-
ing Sister. When convulsed by spasms of
pain he took the crucifix into his hand and
said: “My God, all for Thee, and in atone-
ment for my sins.” When during the last
days the pain grew more intense, he re-
doubled his ejaculatory prayers and, though
his whole body was trembling with pain,
said over and over again: “My Jesus, I am
Thine, yes, Thine, entirely Thine alone.”
Thus came the eighth of September,

1918. It was a Sunday and at the same
time the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. Father Jordan, who was such
a faithful lover of the Mother of God and
who had been so zealous in fostering devo-
tion to her, was to enter into eternity on
this beautiful feast of hers. His condition
was not at all good and he could not re-
ceive Holy Communion on this day. He
found it very hard to get breath and re-
peatedly there was danger that he would
choke. In the evening at about 7:30 the
doctor came; he gave him an injection. The
patient did not notice it.

After this about a quarter of an hour
passed. No one was in the room with the
patient except Father Pancratius Pfeiffer,
his successor as Superior General. All of a
sudden the patient’s heavy breathing began
to slacken, but he did not move in any way.
Father Pancratius called out through the
door, summoning the Sisters. A number of
them immediately came. Death was im-



86

minent. The blessed candle was lighted
and the prayers for the dying were begun.
After about five minutes there was one last
heavy breath and Father Jordan passed in-
to eternity. It was two minutes past eight
o’clock in the evening, September 8, 1918.
Thus ended this life so rich in virtue, so

full of sacrifice. The Society of the Divine
Savior and the Congregation of the Sisters
of the Divine Savior had lost their spirit-
ual Father and Founder. And yet they had
not really lost him; he had merely gone
before them to plead their cause before
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior.
The dead body of Father Jordan was

significantly laid out between white flowers
in the plain, poor, unpretentious chamber
where he d’ed. It was not long before the
inmates of the hospital came in to pay
their respects to the deceased. They were
mostly poor, old, invalid people, many of
whom dragged themselves along supported
by crutches. Then the children from the
orphanage appeared in groups; barefooted
they knelt around the bier and sang ap-
propriate songs, as was the custom there.
They did not show the least fear in the
presence of the venerable deceased, be-

cause one got the impression that he was
only sleeping, so peacefully was he lying
there with what seemed to be the reflec-
tion of a happy eternity on his face. Then
the people of the village, who had heard so
much about the holy man, also appeared on
the scene. All those who knew Father Jor-



87

dan and his lowly spirit would instinctively
say: Truly, all this happened in just this
place and in just this way by a special dis-
position of the all-good God; it almost had
to be so; out of the mouths of infants and
sucklings God wished to procure praise for
His servant. Also one could not help but
think of the Savior’s words: "Call; the- poor,

the maimed, the lame, and the blind, and
thou shalt be blessed.” (Luke 14:13-14.)

As we have said, the Sisters had signifi-
cantly laid him out among white flowers;
at the head a palm stood to the right and
one to the left, with a chalice between. He
wore the religious habit and the stole of
the priest. In the morning the Holy Sacri-
fice of the Mass was offered for him by
Father Pancratius, which all the Sisters
attended.

With special permission the deceased
was buried in the main aisle of the parish
church at Tafers on September 11, 1918.
The Most Reverend Bishop of the diocese,
Dr. Placidus Colliard, accompanied by his
Vicar General, the Rt. Reverend Msgr. Ems,
was present and performed the absolution
at the casket. The pastors of the entire
neighborhood had turned out. From near-
by Fribourg were present the chapter of
the cathedral, the Reverend Dominican and
Capuchin Fathers, and various others. The
school children and orphans lined the road
on both sides. The church was crowded with
the faithful of the parish and many friends
of the Society. After the Solemn Requiem



88

Mass the pastor extended the sympathy of
those present to the sorrowing members of
the Society. He pointed out the trust in
God which had enabled the dear departed
to overcome all the difficulties encountered
in the course of his long and active life. He
dwelt upon the success achieved, the suc-
cess which the Founder had been able to
see for himself after the Society had existed
hardly 38 years. To him, said the pastor,
one could easily apply the words of the
Divine Master: “I have finished the work
which Thou gavest me to do.” (John 17:12.)
He said that the parish of Tafers consid-
ered it an honor to be allowed to shelter
the mortal remains of this great man of
God, at least until such time when circum-
stances would permit their being trans-
ferred to the Eternal City.

CHAPTER 17
FATHER JORDAN’S REPUTATION

FOR SANCTITY
Even in his youth, after he had laid aside

the innocent mischievousness of his child-
hood, which was, as we have seen, after his
first Holy Communion, Jordan was looked
upon as a model boy, v/ell behaved, modest,
exemplary in every way. He was esteemed
and liked by all. Because of his humility
and kindness of heart, his unaffected and
peaceful disposition, he was an object of



89

admiration and high esteem during his col-
lege days; and at the university he was
looked upon by his fellow students as a
man of more than ordinary virtue; whereas
the director of the seminary reported to
the bishop that as a student of theology he
excelled in unusual piety and humility.
When Father Jordan came to Rome as a

young priest he everywhere left the impres-
sion of being unusually conscientious and a
man of God in every sense of the word.
This impression, first given at Campo
Santo, endured throughout the thirty-seven
years of his stay in the Eternal City. Also
the few lay people who knew him regarded
him as a saint. A priest who studied in
Rome once said to some members of the
Society: “Your Founder is looked upon as
a saint in Rome.” On another occasion a
Benedictine Father in St. Peter’s called his
companion’s attention to Father Jordan
who was just then praying in that magnifi-
cent edifice and said: “Some day this man
will also be placed up there among the
holy founders of religious orders.”
A Jesuit Father who was giving a retreat

to the community at Fribourg, Switzer-
land, once enthusiastically exclaimed:
“What a privilege to have been called to
the religious life in the Society of the Di-
vine Savior during the lifetime of your
Founder! How I wish I had been living to-
gether with St. Ignatius!” It was a privi-
lege truly appreciated by those Salva-
torians to whom he was speaking. Proba-



90

bly all the members of the two religious
congregations founded by Father Jordan
regarded him as a saint. Professed mem-
bers considered it a rare privilege to serve
his Mass, inasmuch as they felt they were
serving the Mass of a saint. Father Greg-
ory, the Rector of Scholastics, once said to
them: “Keep all things coming from the
Venerable Father; some day they will be
relics.” Some indeed criticized his physical
defects and the way in which he governed
the Society but no one dared even to doubt
his virtuous life or to question his holiness.
Especially were the Brothers deeply con-
vinced of the sanctity of the servant of
God. “Some day,” they used to say, “they
will envy us for having served a saint.”

So great was Father Jordan’s reputation
for sanctity that the Sisters in the hospital

at Tafers were exceedingly happy at hav-
ing a saint in their house and looked upon
it as a rare privilege to be permitted to
take care of him. They used to ask one
another: “Who has merited for us this
grace?” Afterwards the Sister Superior re-
ported: “I really could not speak much
with Father Jordan, because his venerable
appearance and his holiness moved me to
tears.” The Sister at the hospital who took
care of the laundry used by him once said
to the Superior: “I cannot tell you with
what joy I do this work; I think I hold
holy things in my hands.”

Finally, to bring this brief chapter to a
close, the inmates of the hospital and the



91

villagers came in great numbers to pray at
the coffin and whisper to one another:
“Here lies a saint.” Many touched his
dead body with their rosaries, which they
then treasured as relics. Children, as we
have already said, gathered close around
his remains without showing any fear as
they happily sprinkled holy water on the
deceased or knelt and prayed at his side.
No odor of death was perceived in the
room, though it was very small and low
and the windows were always closed.

CHAPTER 18
FATHER JORDAN’S INTERCESSION
Many people have asked Father Jordan

to pray to God for them; they have invoked
his intercession with success in manifold
kinds of need and distress. And in many
instances God has already granted them
real favors as a result of those prayers and
has thus confirmed and honored the sancti-
ty of his servant. For the edification of our
readers we mention a number of such
cases without, however, entering into de-
tails.

In 1937 a lady suffering from a com-
plicated inflammation of the lungs was
confined to a hospital in a hopeless condi-
tion. Her death was expected at any mo-
ment. Then the nursing Sister had recourse
to Father Jordan; she began a novena in



92

his honor and put a relic of him upon the
patient; whereupon immediate improve-
ment set in, the lady was restored to health,
and left the hospital within a short time.
The physician in charge declared in writing
that the condition of the patient had been
quite hopeless and that the sudden im-
provement took place immediately after
the imposition of the relic of Father Jordan.
This is but one case of many. Various
hospital Sisters have called Father Jordan
an exceedingly powerful helper in sickness;
and their confidence in him has grown and
has been strengthened by the many evi-
dences of his help. They will mention, for
instance, how two newly born babies who
had been given up by the doctors were re-
stored to health against all expectation be-

cause of prayers to Father Jordan; how he
often helped in a striking manner when
patients during an operation seemed on the
point of death, how such a patient regained
consciousness for some hours and was thus
enabled to receive the last Sacraments and
to die in peace with God.
Then there is the case of an elderly lady

who suffered from gout for many years, as
a consequence of which she became deaf
and almost blind. Nevertheless she dragged
herself along to the church in order to assist
at Holy Mass and to receive Holy Com-
munion. Then all of a sudden a new disease
appeared, an open sore on her foot, which
made it impossible for her to go to church.
Thereupon she got a picture relic of Fa-



93

ther Jordan. Feeling great confidence in

him, she begged of him to intercede for her
with God, praying only for the cure of her
foot in order to be able to go to church
again. It was on Thursday after Passion
Sunday that she began to pray to Father
Jordan and help came so quickly that on
the following day, the feast of Our Lady of
Sorrows, she could go to church. She con-
tinued to go to church every day of Holy
Week. All the pain had disappeared and
never returned. The doctor could remove
the elastic bandage.

In 1933 a Sister had to undergo a very
dangerous double operation, which was per-
formed by four surgeons. It was a hard
struggle between life and death. But from
the very start Sister had recourse to Father
Jordan, made a novena, and placed a relic
of him upon the wound. There was visible
improvement, so much so that the doctors
wondered. However, when all seemed well
and the wound was apparently healed, it
broke open again at about eight o’clock one
evening. With renewed fervor the patient
turned to Father Jordan and again placed
the relic upon the wound; at two o’clock
in the morning the wound was still open;
at three o’clock the Sister fell asleep from
exhaustion and fatigue and when she
awoke in the morning the wound was com-
pletely healed and every trace of pain was
gone. That same day the Sister went back
to her convent and the day after she was
able to do her regular work again. There



94

was no reoccurrence of the sickness.
Then there was the extraordinary case

of a young man who was studying for
the priesthood. In September, 1938, he
was seized with a severe hemorrhage
of the throat and was brought to the
hospital, where a doctor succeeded in
closing the veins by means of a clamp.
The patient had lost a quart of blood.
The next morning the doctor removed
the clamp, but two hours later a new
hemorrhage set in which was so bad that
the patient lost consciousness and lay
there as if lifeless. Extreme Unction was
administered to him. Two doctors and
several nursing Sisters worked for hours
until the vein could be duly sewn up; then,
after a blood transfusion had been given,
the patient was again out of danger. As
soon as the seminarian had been brought
in the Sisters, realizing the seriousness of

his condition, had started a novena in hon-
or of Father Jordan, full of confidence that
he would help them again as he had done
on so many other occasions. Four days
afterward another hemorrhage set in. He
was at once taken to the operating room
but it was with some reluctance that the
Sister administered ether because his hair,
eyes, and features indicated that death was
approaching. However, the ether worked
effectively, but at the same time the pa-
tient clamped his jaws together so tightly
that the doctors were at a loss as to what
to do. Thereupon the Sister sent up a fer-



95

vent prayer for help to Father Jordan -

and at once the doctor was able to open
the mouth. But because much blood had
gathered in the mouth, it was now im-
possible to find the vein; and, to make
matters worse, the light of an instrument
went out. All seemed to be lost. A new cry
for help went up to Father Jordan; and
thereupon the doctor found the vein and
the operation was brought to a successful
close. The Sister made a second and third
novena, and at the third one the patient
was out of danger. The recovery pro-
ceeded quickly and in October of the same
year the young man could return to the
seminary hale and hearty and continue his
studies. In due time he was ordained to
the holy priesthood and is today doing
splendid work for the greater honor and
glory of God and the sanctification and
salvation of souls.

Without entering into any details we
may also mention that through the inter-
cession of Father Jordan a certain person
was saved from a heavy fine because
against all expectation the case of litigation
was suddenly dropped; a novena had been
held in honor of the servant of God. Then
there was the case of a striking reconcili-
ation in the immediate family circle be-
cause of trustful recourse to Father Jor-
dan. Sisters in grave economic distress saw
their confidence in him splendidly justified
and have ever since held his relics in high
esteem. In a poor country parish the prob-



96

lem of water supply was solved in a re-
markable way through the intercession of
Father Jordan.
To bring our partial enumeration of

cases in which Father Jordan’s intercession
was confidently sought and obtained to a
close, we merely add the following. A man
had an abscess on the pupil of one of his
eyes and according to the opinion of the
doctor there was no other way than to take
out the eye. A novena was held in honor
of Father Jordan and the eye healed up
well in a short time without any medical
aid. - How Father Jordan helps in simple,
ordinary cases can be seen from the fact
that a man was relieved of an obstinate
toothache which had caused him great pain
for months on the last day of a novena
made in honor of Father Jordan. - Then
there was the Sister who suffered from ter-
rible headaches finally followed by blind-
ness and who was cured with unexpected
quickness through the powerful interces-
sion of Father Jordan. - There was also the
case of that insane person who had been
declared incurable by the doctors but who
was completely cured after several novenas
had been made for her in honor of Father
Jordan. There was also the case of the
priest who feared that he would have to
give up his parish because he was afflicted
with a tremor in his arm which was making
it impossible for him to distribute Holy
Communion. He prayed to Father Jordan
with the greatest confidence, whereupon an



97

improvement immediately set in so that he
could properly discharge all his parochial

duties.

Also you who have now read this book
may wish to have recourse to the interces-
sion of Father Francis of the Cross Jordan.
Also you may receive great favors from
him. If so, please report all favors received

through the intercession of Father Jordan
to the Very Rev. Father Provincial, The
Salvatorian Novitiate, Menominee, Michi-
gan.

As regards the manner of asking his in-
tercession, you may proceed in your own
way, praying to him in your own words, or
simply saying over and over again, “Father
Francis of the Cross Jordan, pray for me.”
You may say the rosary in his honor, or
any other prayers. If you repeat such pray-
ers for nine consecutive days you will be
making a novena in his honor. Or you may
use, but only for private devotion, the
following

PRAYER FOR BEATIFICATION
O Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Thou

didst fill the heart of Thy faithful servant,
Father Francis of the Cross, with burning
love of God, unshaken confidence, and un-
tiring zeal for souls. Grant also to us, as
Thou didst to him, a love of God and the
neighbor which surmounts all obstacles, a
spirit of constant prayer, great purity of
heart, evangelical simplicity, and true apos-
tolic zeal. Aid us faithfully to follow his



98

example that we may be found worthy to
do all in our power that Thine infinite love
for us sinful men may be known ever more
and more, that Thou mayest be supremely
loved in return, and that this poor world
may seek help and salvation from Thee
alone.

And thou, most amiable Mother of the
Savior and Queen of the Apostles, who
obtainest from Thy divine Son whatsoever
thou dost ask of Him, beg of His most lov-
ing Heart that Father Francis, who was
attached to thee with such childlike devo-
tion, may very soon receive the honor of
the altars, that he may be constantly before
the eyes of all his spiritual children as a

shining example, and that thus, as in life
so also in death, he may continue his work
for the sublime interests of God and the
salvation of many immortal souls. Amen.