N o 1 9 POSTULATION December 2006 SALVATORIAN PRESS Introduction he current issue of the Postulation Press has reached your hands on the 125th anniversary of the foundation of the Society of the TDivine Savior. The last year, which witnessed the first Salvatorian General Chapter in the New Millennium, was abundant in significant events concerning the Cause for Beatification of our Venerable Founder, the Servant of God Father Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan. The implications of the actions that were undertaken during that time have found their echo in the mate- rial published in the current issue. Among of the most significant events concerning the Beatification Process of our Founder was the completion of his biography (Vita docu- mentata), which is over 2600 pages long. This biography constitutes a part of the Positio, the documentation that is being prepared for the Holy See. On Father Jordan’s birthday, June 16, 2006, we gratefully put a copy of his biography - as our gift - on his tomb in the Motherhouse. We rejoice over the fact that on the 125th anniversary of the foundation of our religious institute we were able to have the entire Positio (4000 pages in 4 volumes) printed and to submit it to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. That event marked a very significant stage in the ongo- AN ing process of beatification in that, from now on, the procedures con- INFORMATION cerning the cause of Father Jordan rest in the hands of the Holy See. SERVICE The material included in the current issue of the Postulation Press comprises also information from the process on Father Jordan’s con- FOR tinuing reputation for holiness. The process in question was held by the THE Vicariate of Rome. On the following pages, you will also find informa- tion on the work of the historical commission appointed by the Vicariate CAUSE of Rome which confirmed the authenticity of the documents used in the OF preparation of the Positio. From the reports, you can also learn about the process, just started in Savannah (USA), concerning an alleged healing FATHER miracle through the intercession of Father Jordan. FRANCIS The included material additionally comprises profiles of the Founder MARY which, as always, can be helpful for use in particular provinces in order to make the person of the Servant of God Father Jordan more familiar OF to those with whom members of the Salvatorian Family happen to live THE and work. In the concluding part of the Postulation Press, we have briefly referred CROSS to the most significant visits made during the last year to Father Jordan’s tomb in our Motherhouse in Rome. Among them were: the visit of the JORDAN POSTULATION SALVATORIAN PRESS Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Holy Press into your particular languages. We ask that any See, the visit of a group of lay salvatorians from all translations be sent via e-mail to the Generalate so over the world who participated in the historic first that we can put them on our website. International Meeting of the Lay Salvatorians held in Rome, as well as the visit of the General Chapter We wish to encourage each of you to zealous and of the Salvatorian Sisters. devoted prayer for the rapid beatification of Father Jordan and for even more intense pleading through Let me, also on this occasion, appeal to the superiors his intercession. We ask all of you to inform the of the particular administrative units and to those Postulation Office about cases of healing and graces responsible for the promotion of the person of the from God obtained through the intercession of our Servant of God Father Jordan to undertake the task Founder. of translation of the current issue of the Postulation Fr. Bronisław Jakubiec, SDS STATE OF THE BEATIFICATION PROCESS REPORT OF THE POSTULATOR Saint Peter. In this manner we can sincerely state that TO THE GENERAL CHAPTER the task entrusted to us has been completed. We have in our hands the visible fruit of our hard work. The saintly life and the presentation of the virtues of our Together with our Beloved Father, Founder demonstrated in the ‘Positio’ permit us today Founder and Servant of God - towards a to see the open door to Saint Peter’s basilica. This true human and Salvatorian life basic statement is very optimistic but, and at the same time, very realistic. In reality we have completed the first but very important stage: we have presented the The basic statement holy life of our Beloved Father Jordan to the highest would like to speak to you on behalf of the Church authorities in the manner demanded by the Postulation team together with my closest col- rules for the Process of Beatification. I laborator and Vice Postulator, Prof. Stephan Horn SDS, on where we are with the Beatification Process The main characteristics of the holy life of our of our Reverend and Beloved Father and Founder, Beloved Father and Founder emerged from the Servant of God, Father Francis Mary of the Cross work of the Postulation Jordan by using two pictures. If we look at the whole The last six years have demonstrated the hard work Beatification Process as the ‘heart’ of our mission, I and determination that brought us here today. Our want to say that we have entered the ‘atrium cordis’. work shows clearly the apostolic sanctity of our The other picture represents a clearer image of what I Founder. It is important to note how fascinated zeal- want to tell you. We can compare the whole Process ous Christians are by the life and the spirituality of to the way in which our Reverend Father walked our Founder. Because of this, we are more and more every day from our house to the basilica of Saint convinced that the holy personality of our Father can Peter. All my predecessors in the Postulation contin- be very important for many people. Our Founder is ued the Beatification Process of our Founder from not only God’s gift to the Salvatorian family but he is its beginning in 1942, walking through the square of a real gift for the whole Church. This statement should Saint Peter to the altar located in the center before be a significant stimulus for us, his spiritual sons, but the entrance to the vestibule of the basilica. Our also for his spiritual daughters and for all members of principle goal was to prepare the ‘Positio’ requested the Salvatorian family, to enter more deeply into his by the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints. spirituality, to assimilate this spirituality as our own In the last six years we have prepared the requested precious spiritual diamond and to share with others ‘Positio’ and entered the ‘vestibule’ of the basilica of 2 No. 19/December 2006 POSTULATION SALVATORIAN PRESS our personal relationship with our saintly Founder. clearly determined on this spiritual way and, conse- He was considered a saint during his life and his quently, Christ’s figure also became more strongly ‘Fama Sanctitatis’ was the basic premise to introduce imprinted in Father Francis. Humility became an his Process of Beatification. If his Beatification is to important part of his spirituality, a humility expressed be sown on fertile soil, it is now our sincere duty to in his willingness to accept the grace of his vocation make Father Jordan more known to many Christians. with joy and gratitude and to persevere in his mission. Why should we do this? If we are convinced about Another important aspect of his spirituality was faith his saintly life, we should do it without hesitation. that God fulfills His promises and listens to anybody Some characteristics of his saintly life can be helpful who invokes Him with great trust. As a result, Father to us in order to bring his very rich Christian life to Jordan was ready to live radical apostolic poverty and many of our brothers and sisters in the world. to take on his shoulders all kind of sufferings for the sake of God’s Kingdom. We also see which sources Father Jordan became more and more a true reflec- fed and sustained his apostolic zeal: the joy which tion of Jesus Christ through his vocation and his life. resulted from his meeting with Jesus Christ in Holy In his untiring contribution to Christ’s concern for the Communion and during adoration; meditation and salvation of all people we see the universal dimension contemplation on the Passion of his Divine Master; of Jesus Christ’s work for the salvation of humanity. the joy resulting from his relationship to Mary, Father Francis Mary of the Cross with his fundamen- Mother of the Savior and his mother; love and obedi- tal premise ‘All for the greater glory of God and for ence towards the Catholic Church, above all towards the salvation of souls’ testifies to the care of the good the Holy See. It is evident how Father Jordan, in his Shepherd, who looks after all his sheep to ensure no care for his spiritual sons and daughters, became a one is lost. Our Founder reached the high point of man of kindhearted openness, of patience, and how his apostolic vocation in his contemplation of the he was so willing to forgive. He demonstrated these evangelical words: ‘This is eternal life, that they may characteristics mentioned above when he was con- know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom fronted with many difficulties, adversities and disil- you have sent’ (Jn 17: 3). In this manner, he became lusionments.