He was born
John Baptist Jordan in the town of Gurtweil, in the
Grand Duchy of Baden (now part of the city of
Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany), the second son of Lorenz Jordan and Notburga Peter. Although he felt called to serve as a priest as an early age, the poverty of the family did not allow him to do the required studies. Instead he became an itinerant laborer and painter. Through his travels throughout Germany, he became aware of the effects of the German government's official policies restricting the activities of the Catholic Church, known as the
Kulturkampf, which was resulting in the loss of many of the faithful. Finally spurred by the situation, Jordan gave up his work and began the academic studies required for
holy orders. He initially had private lessons from local clergy and then attended a secondary school in
Constance. Despite his struggle with the sciences, he developed a talent for foreign languages. For his graduation examination, he presented one essay in eight European languages and another one in four other languages. Having successfully completed his initial studies, he then proceeded to enroll at the
Albert-Ludwigs University in
Freiburg to do his higher studies in the fields of theology and
philology. After receiving his degree from the university, he enrolled in the nearby St. Peter Seminary. This conviction became even stronger during a trip to the
Middle East in 1880. Jordan established a community of
religious sisters of the Salvatorians in Rome in 1883 under the leadership of
Franziska Streitel, but had Wüllenweber remain in Germany. Problems arose, however, between Jordan and this community and these sisters separated from the society, going on to become the
Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, an international religious congregation, particularly committed to health care. In 1888 Jordan asked Wüllenweber to move to Rome, where she and two companions took religious vows on 8 December of that year, receiving the
religious habit from Jordan. She then became known as Mary of the Apostles. Wüllenweber was beatified on October 13, 1968, and her liturgical commemoration is celebrated on September 5 (the day she professed her vows as the first female member of the Apostolic Teaching Society). In 1892 Jordan accepted the request of
Ambrose Oschwald, a priest from Baden, who had led a group of people from that region to
Wisconsin, in the United States, in order to form a Christian communal way of life. The Salvatorians then became established in that country, founding the former
John F. Kennedy Preparatory High School from the group's property. In 1893, he gave his religious communities the names Society of the Divine Savior and Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Savior. They were soon known as "Salvatorians" from the Latin
salvator ("savior").
Death Due to the outbreak of
World War I, and the restrictions it imposed on the communications of the society, its administration was moved to
Tafers, Switzerland, a neutral nation. Jordan died there on 8 September 1918. ==Veneration ==