Blessed Jordan of Saxony
Also known as
- Jordan de Alamaia
- Giordana…
- Giordano…
- Giordanus…
- Gordanus…
- Jordana…
- Jordanka…
- Jordanus…
Profile
Born to the Saxon nobility, he received a pious upbringing and was noted for his charity to the poor from an early age. Educated in Germany, and received his masters degree in theology at the University of Paris. Joined the Order of Preachers in 1220 under Saint Dominic himself. Prior-provincial of the Order in Lombardy, Italy in 1221. Succeeded Dominic as master-general of the Order in 1222. Under his administration, the Order spread throughout Germany, and into Denmark.
A noted and powerful preacher; one of his sermons brought Saint Albert the Great into the Order. Wrote a biography of Saint Dominic. His writings on Dominic and the early days of the Order are still considered a primary sources. Spiritual director of Blessed Diana d’Andalo, and helped her found the monastery of Saint Agnes.
Born
- c.1190 at Padberg Castle, diocese of Paderborn, Westphalia, old Saxony (in modern Germany)
- rumoured to have been born in Palestine while his parents were on a pilgrimage, and named after the River Jordan, but this is apparently aprochryphal
- drowned in 1237 in a shipwreck off the coast of Syria while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land
- buried in Acre
- 1826 (cultus confirmed) by Pope Leo XII
Readings
Among the men of God who have made the family of Saint Dominic illustrious, we must not forget the blessed Jordan. Saxony considers it an honour to be his native country. Not only men felt the charm God gave to the words of His servant. One day when some monks outwent Saint Jordan in travelling just outside Lausanne, a weasel ran in front of them. The brethren gathered round the hole into which it had disappeared. The blessed Jordan, coming up, asked them,”Why’re you stopping there?” They said: “Because a lovely, delightful little creature has gone into this hole.” Then, bending down, he cried: “Come out, pretty little creature, that we may see you.” The animal came at once to the mouth of the hole, and looked up at the saint, who made it get up into one of his hands, and stroked its head and back; it allowed him to do so. Then he said to it: “Now return to thy little home, and blessed be the Lord thy Creator.” It at once obeyed and disappeared. – from “The Little Bollandists” by Monsignor Paul Guérin, 1882
MLA Citation
- “Blessed Jordan of Saxony“. CatholicSaints.Info. 28 October 2021. Web. 24 April 2024. <>