Saint of the Day – 7 August – Blessed Jordan Forzate OSB (1158-1248) Abbot, Peacemaker, Papal and Civil Negotiator, Papal Legate and Visitor. Born in Padua and died on 7 August 1248 at Venice. Also known as – Jordan of Padua. Additional Memorial – 13 August in Padua.

Jordan was born into the noble Forzaté family. At the age of 16, on the night of 4 March 1174, he fled, terrified, from the raging fire which destroyed most of the City, taking refuge in the small Monastery of San Benedetto, located outside the City.

For 20 years after this time, nothing is documented about Jordan but he certainly led an exemplary life. In 1195, he was a Prior of the Monastery which he had rebuilt in two sections divided by high walls, one for the Monks and the other for the Nuns. The Church was in the centre, serving the holy Mass and Sacraments to both the Monks and the Nuns.

It is said that Abbot Jordan, once the work was finished, planted the dogwood stick ( which he used to trace the outline of the Monastery in the ground) in the centre of the courtyard reserved for the Nuns. The arid stick sprouted into a vigorous plant, whose leaves and fruit had healing properties. Over time, whenever a member of the Forzaté family died, a branch would wither, completely withering away when the last descendant died; subsequently, other shoots sprouted from the stump. On 2 December 1811, when the Monastery was suppressed, the prodigious tree was transplanted into the garden of the Capodilista family, a branch of the Forzaté family.

It should be added that between the 13th and 14th Centuries, there were around 20 double Benedictine Monasteries in the Diocese of Padua.

Jordan was not only an Abbot who guided his Monks, but also an ambassador of peace for Padua and the entire Marca Trevigiana; in fact, a 14th Century miniature depicts him on horseback, setting out on a peacemaking mission.

In 1216, he negotiated peace between Treviso and Belluno as a delegate of Pope Honorius III and he also acted as arbitrator between Ezzelino da Romano and Rambertino, podestà of Verona, who met in the Bishop’s palace in Padua. In 1234, together with the Bishop of Treviso, he negotiated peace between Padua and Treviso and, after a while, also between Padua and Vicenza. However, the quarrels between these Venetian Cities culminated in the fall of Verona and Vicenza, into the hands of the ferocious Ezzelino da Romano and despite Jordan Forzaté’s efforts to prevent it, Padua was also occupied on 25 February 1237, by Ezzelino.

Abbot Jordan then deemed it appropriate to leave the Monastery of San Benedetto and retreat to his father’s Castle of Montemerlo. It is worth remembering that his contemporary, St Anthony of Padua, also had meetings with Ezzelino, in attempts to loosen his grip on Padua.

Jordan’s religious activity was even more intense; he was delegated by Popes Innocent III and Gregory IX on various missions to the Bishops of the Venetian Cities, and was an Apostolic Visitor to Monasteries in the aforementioned Diocese. In 1229 Jordan was pesent as a consultant for the City of Padua and at the election of the new Bishop.

After the death of St Anthony (1231) he was charged, together with other venerable people, with preparing the trial on the life and miracles performed by the great Anthony. Among other things, he was spiritual advisor to the blessed Beatrice d’Este.

In 1237 Ezzelino III accused him of conspiring to bring about his downfall and, therefore, had him locked in the prisons of the castle of St Zenone, a little far from Bassano del Grappa, despite the intercession of the Bishop of Padua, the Clergy, the Monks and many citizens.

In 1239, after two years, the Emperor Frederick II, finding himself in Vicenza, wanted to see Jordan, then handing him over to the custody of the patriarch of Aquileia but the Abbot, feeling unsafe, fled to Venice, to the Cistercian Monastery of Celestia, where he remained until his death on 7 August 1248.

In 1260, his body was brought back to Padua and buried in the Church of San Benedetto, where he immediately began to be venerated as a Saint. In 1300, he had his own Altar. As miracles continued through his intercession, the cult grew ever more intense, until Pope Clement XIV confirmed his cult on 6 September 1769, with a Feast on 7 August, while in Padua it is celebrated on 13 August.

In 1811, after thn Monastery was suppressed, his body was transferred, firstly to the Cathedral and then on 9 November 1952, to the Parish Church of San Benedetto in Padua – back home again!