Fr. Salvador R. Jordan, S.J.
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Fr. Salvador R. Jordan, S.J. Fr. Sal Jordan, S.J., pastor of St. Ignatius, Chapel Point from 1993 to 2005 died on December 11, 2021 at the age of 79 at Manresa Hall in Merion Station, PA. Fr. Sal was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Forestville, MD with his parents, Raphael and Sara and his two brothers, Ralph and David. He entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) after completing his high school education at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC, "Class of '61". His path in the Jesuits went from a Jesuit brother baking bread and other delights such as green cornbread on St. Patrick's Day to becoming a registered nurse. He went on to study psychology and then theology before Fr. Sal was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1977. In the early 1980s Fr. Sal was an associate director of retreats at Loyola Retreat House in Faulkner, MD where he also founded and served as first director of the St. Inigoes Wilderness Retreat Center for Youth. In the summer of 1985 he served an internship as a chaplain at the National Institutes of Health (N.I.H.), ministering to critically ill AIDS patients and their families. He became a chaplain at Georgetown University Hospital on the infectious diseases ward in the fall of 1985. During the height of the AIDS epidemic, Fr. Sal established the LifeLine Support Group for people with AIDS and their families; one of the first in the country.
In 1993, he became pastor of St. Ignatius Parish, Chapel Point, Port Tobacco, MD, the oldest continually active parish in the United States. He was described as a Jesuit with a Franciscan's heart. His love for animals started with a variety of animals, including sheep, goats, pigs, dogs, peacocks and a turkey, chickens, and several aviaries of birds - especially canaries and finches. Visitors loved to come by with their children to see the many animals. This also led to having a live nativity at Christmas; and the Blessing of the Animals on the Sunday closest to the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. This tradition continues today. Familiar landmarks here at Chapel Point that bear Fr. Sal's imprint are The Shrine of Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, the Way of the Cross Garden, and the statue of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, all that overlook the Port Tobacco and Potomac Rivers. His gentle, kind ways drew people closer to God, and resulted in bringing many to the church through RCIA, infant baptisms, and weddings. Fr. Sal had a way of meeting people of all types where they were in life, good and bad.
In 2006, his ministry continued with a sabbatical; and on to studies in Spanish in San Antonio so he could minister to Hispanic communities. He was then assigned to St. Raphael in Raleigh, NC. Following that assignment, he returned to Georgetown, as the campus minister of the School of Medicine.
He is survived by his brothers, Ralph and David Jordan and their wives, nieces, nephews, cousins, and countless friends. A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Ignatius Church - Chapel Point on
Friday, January 7, 2022 at 11 a.m. Fr. Sal will be laid to rest at St. Ignatius Church - Chapel Point in the priest's cemetery June 4, 2022. Those details will be forthcoming closer to June.