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Johann Baptist Jordan was born on June 16, 1848, in Gurtweil, Grand Duchy of Baden, part of Germany today. He was the second son of Lorenz Jordan and Notburga Peter.
Although he wanted to study for the priesthood from an early age, he was unable to do so because his family did not have enough money for school. Therefore, when he was old enough, he became a traveling laborer and painter.
During his travels as a young man, Johann became acutely aware of the devastating effects of the Prussian government’s Kulturkampf policies. Kulturkampf (1871-1878) was a conflict between Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck and Pope Pius IX. During this time, the Prussian government enacted various laws discouraging Catholicism, and these laws caused many Catholics to abandon their faith.
Johann was determined to do his part to counteract this movement by becoming a priest. To do this, he first took private lessons before enrolling in formal schools. He eventually went to Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg to study theology and philology and then to St. Peter Seminary.
Though he struggled with some of the fields of study, he showed an amazing ability in mastering foreign languages.
On July 21, 1878, Johann was ordained a priest in Freiburg, Germany. Because of his facility with languages, the bishop sent him for advanced studies in languages, first to Rome, and then to the Holy Land. Father Johann became fluent in many languages including Arabic, Aramaic, Coptic, Greek, Hebrew, and Syrian in addition to his native German.
Father Johann believed he was called to something to rekindle the Catholic faith among people who were losing it. Therefore, in September 1880, he met with Pope Leo XIII and told the pope that he would like to form a new order of priests devoted to teaching the Catholic faith. The pope gave his blessing to that endeavor. So, on December 8, 1881, Father Johann, with two other men, took private vows for the new foundation. This order of priests became known as the Society of the Divine Savior, and he took the name Francis Mary of the Cross.
In time, the order would expand to include a branch of religious sisters, the Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Savior co-founded by Therese von Wüllenweber (Mother Mary of the Apostles), and later, a lay branch of Salvatorians called the International Community of the Divine Savior.
Father Fracis Mary of the Cross Jordan died in Tafers, Switzerland on September 8, 1918. He was beatified on May 15, 2021, and his feast day is July 21, anniversary of his priesthood ordination.
Today, Salvatorians in more than forty nations of the world in a variety of ministries.
