Jordan of Saxony, OP (referred to in Latin asJordanis, also known asde Alamania; c. 1190 – 1237), was aGerman Catholic priest and one of the first leaders of theDominican Order. His feast day is February 13.
Jordan belonged to the noble German family of theCounts of Eberstein. He was born in the Castle of Borrenstrick, in the diocese ofPaderborn. He began his studies in his native land, and was sent to complete them at theUniversity of Paris.[1] While a student he metDominic de Guzman, the founder of the Order of Preachers, and was inspired by the preaching ofReginald of Orleans (also known as Reginald ofSaint-Gilles) to join theDominican Order. He received the habit onAsh Wednesday, 1220. Jordan was a Master of Arts and a grammarian, and taught in the schools of Paris.[2]
On 6 August 1221,Dominic died, and in 1222 Jordan was elected as his successor asMaster General of the Order of Preachers.[1] Like Dominic, Jordan was famed as a strict disciplinarian whose commitment to theRule was tempered with kindness.
During Jordan's administration, the young Order increased to over 300 priories. Jordan is particularly remembered for his eloquence in attracting candidates to join the Order. Through his lectures in university towns, he won many—allegedly well over 1,000—professors and students for the Order from the universities of Europe, among whom wasAlbertus Magnus who is thought to have been recruited inPadua.[4] He added four newprovinces to the eight already existing. Twice he obtained for the Order a chair at the University of Paris and helped to found theUniversity of Toulouse. He established the first general house of studies of the Order.[5]
In addition, Jordan was a spiritual guide to many, including one of the firstDominican nuns,Diana degli Andalò.[1] He also found time to write a number of books: a life of Dominic and several other works. Among them was theLibellus de principiis Ordinis Praedicatorum ("Booklet on the beginnings of the Order of Preachers"), aLatin text. This is both the earliest biography of Dominic and the first narrative history of the foundation of the Order.
A section of a work by the friar Gerald de Frachet describing the lives of the first Dominicans, theLives of the Brothers (Vitae fratrum), is dedicated to describing his character, virtue, and miracles. All of the firstchroniclers of the Order describe Jordan's kindness and personal charm. He had the ability to console the troubled and to inspire the despondent with new hope.[6]
Jordan died, at the age of forty-seven, in ashipwreck returning fromPalestine, where he had been visiting the localmonasteries of the Order. The shipwreck occurred off the coast ofSyria on 13 February 1237.[7] Jordan was buried in the Dominican Church of St. John inAkko, in present-dayIsrael.
He is venerated as the patron of Dominican vocations.Jordan is honoured as thepatron saint of theFaculty of Engineering of theUniversity of Santo Tomas, inManila, which was founded by the Dominican Order. In Colombia, he is honoured as the patron saint of the Colegio Jordan de Sajonia, one of the most important private schools of Bogota.
Jordan of Saxony is credited with introducing the practice of singing theSalve Regina in procession at the end ofCompline, done, it is recorded, to calm the spirits of the Brothers, who were being tried by theDevil.[5]
^W. A. Hinnebusch,The History of the Dominican Order: Origins and growth to 1500, Volume 1, p. 103.
^Irven Resnick (ed.),A Companion to Albert the Great: Theology, Philosophy, and the Sciences, BRILL, 2012, p. 4; Thomas F. Glick, Steven Livesey, Faith Wallis (eds.),Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia, Routledge, 2014, p. 15;Pope Benedict XVI,Great Christian Thinkers: From the Early Church Through the Middle Ages, Fortress Press, 2011, p. 281.
