Salvatorians, or Society of the Divine Savior - Societas Divini Salvatoris (abbr. SDS, since that is the full name in Polish and Latin) is a Roman Catholic religious congregation based on papal law, founded in Rome on December 8, 1881. It received diocesan approval from Cardinal Vicar Lucido Parocchi on June 5, 1886; papal decree of praise on May 27, 1905; final approval on November 25, 1911. The first Constitutions were finally approved on March 20, 1922. As instructed by the Vatican Council, the Second Assembly prepared a new text of the Constitution, which was approved on December 8, 1983.

Father Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan (1848-1918) was the founder. As a student of theology, he presented a heroic apostolic attitude. His heart burned with such apostolic zeal that he was ready to sacrifice his life for immortal souls. In February 1878 (a few months before his priestly ordination) he published a note in his “Spiritual Diary”, the content of which was realized on the path of his priestly and religious vocation: “Think of the peoples, countries and languages of the world, and see how much is done for the glory of God and for the salvation of others. “

The Apostle of Christ should constantly remember the current apostolic tasks, the situation of individual peoples and nations, because each Christian bears to some extent a responsibility for the salvation of all people for whom the Blood of Christ was shed. This awareness was expressed in the life of our Founder when, as a journeyman and member of the Association of Catholic Journeymen, he traveled to Germany and other Western European countries in 1869. There he noticed a great moral misery among people, caused among others by the development of urbanization and industrialization. In the 1870s, the merciless battle with the Church, known as Kulturkampf, also intensified in the already united German countries.

Inspired by God’s grace, Jordan has already made a decisionto in his soul to found an institute that would counter the looming evil. The idea of a new work, apostolic and religious institution, usually takes a long time to realize. At first it matures, and often develops dramatically, in the soul of the founder himself. God does not give his chosen man an exact revelation about the work to be created, but instead gives him enlightenment and inspiration, expecting him to cooperate. Those chosen ones had to fight many internal fights before they came to believe that God was calling them to a particular mission. This same situation also occurred in the life of Fr. Jordan. In his “Diary” he notes some doubts as to the form and shape of his work: “Pray every day that your intention, especially regarding this institute, will be purified.” In even the most difficult moments, however, he is characterized by great trust in God’s Providence.

Many internal struggles, thoughts, doubts and hesitations finally bear fruit. While in Jerusalem, Fr. Jordan prayed a lot. In prayer, he made the decision to found the institute: “As soon as the appropriate time comes, lead the work that God wants, with the greatest confidence and joyful heart despite the greatest suffering! Don’t be discouraged, don’t lose courage. Grab all the means allowed by the commandments.“ The reference comes from the “Spiritual Diary” of 1880.

December 8, 1881, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is considered the day of the formal founding of the Apostolic Teaching Society. On this day priests Frederick von Leonhardi and Bernard Luthen took their vows in the chapel of St. Bridget of Rome.

The original idea of Fr. John the Baptist Jordan was to found the apostolic union of priests and laypeople, consisting of three degrees. The first was to be the priests and laypeople who decided to live together; the second, laypeople who would devote themselves to the apostolate through learning and writing but did not live together, and the third for those priests and laypeople who would live and work their existing jobs, supporting the Society with their prayer, penance and propagating the organization through various publications. This internal structure, the work of Fr. Jordan, existed from 1881 under the name of Apostolic Teaching Society, and from 1882 as the Catholic Teaching Society.

However, after some time Fr. Jordan came to the conclusion that if his work was to continue, it must be transformed into a formal religious congregation. It happened on March 11, 1883, on the Sunday of the Passion, when Fr. Jordan placed his religious profession in the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome and took the name of Francis Mary of the Cross, putting on a monastic habit.

By changing the nature of the institute, its founder also changed the outfit. For the first year, members of the new congregation wore gray habits with a white stripe (cingulum); in 1884 the color of habits was changed to black.

In 1883 a monastic novitiate took place. It was a great joy for the Founder to see young people joining him. The assembly developed very quickly. In 1884 it had 17 members, a year later there were 32, and in 1889 all of 152: priests, brothers, seminarians, novices and candidates.

From the beginning, the society was international in its character. The first ordained priest was Tomasz Weigang, who came from the Kłodzko region of Poland.

The founder’s biggest desire was for all people to know and love Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. This desire could have been achieved thanks to the rapid increase in the number of members of the assembly. Nine years from its founding, Fr. Jordan opened the mission in Assam, India. In 1890 he sent two priests and two religious brothers there.

In 1893, the name of the congregation was finally changed: the Catholic Teaching Society was replaced by the Society of the Divine Savior. This new name seemed to fit perfectly, for it articulated the spirit and purpose of the Society expressed in the words of Christ, the Savior of the world: “And this is eternal life: that they may know You, the One, True God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent” ( J 17.3).

In 1894, the Salvatorian Congregation had 273 members of various nationalities. Almost from the very beginning, many candidates came from Poland (most of them from the Opole region and the entire Upper Silesia). Of the nearly one thousand candidates who joined the Salvatorians in the years 1881–1900, about one hundred came from Poland. These priests and brothers, constituting a significant percentage of membership, actively joined in achieving its goals. They operated everywhere they were sent by their superiors. Some of them cooperated with priests and brothers of other nationalities in the creation of the American Province, also developing pastoral activity among Poles who emigrated to North America. Some were sent to the Indian Peninsula to work on a mission in Assam. Many helped the emerging congregations in Europe. Only a few returned to their homeland to lay the foundation for the future Polish Province through their work. The first of them were priests: Alfred Zacharzowski, Honoriusz Bugiel and Cezary Wojciechowski, who arrived at Krakow in 1900. The first outpost they founded in Poland was the house in Trzebinia in 1903.

The rapid expansion of the Congregation forced the members of the Second General Chapter (which took place in 1908) to divide the Congregation into provinces. Four provinces (districts) were established: Anglo-American, Austro-Hungarian (with the college in Trzebinia), German and Latin American.

In 1911, the Society of the Divine Savior had 418 members, including 187 priests, and had 23 branches, including the mission in Assam. In that year, the Congregation for Bishops and Friars gave final approval for the Society of the Divine Savior. The official message was received by Fr. Jordan on March 8, 1911.

After the First World War, when Poland regained its independence in 1918, new opportunities for the development of the Congregation in Poland opened up. To achieve this goal, a formation house was needed. It became possible thanks to the attitude of Fr. Gołba, catechist at the Junior High School of St. Jack. On January 12, 1922, a contract was signed under which Dormitory of St. Jacek (St. Jack) in Krakow (Zakrzowek district) received the Salvatorian administration. From 1923, the Salvatorians ran their own novitiate and clericate. In 1927 the Province of Poland was founded. It had 27 members: 8 priests, 7 brothers, 4 clerics, 8 novices. A few years later, a college was established in Mikolow in Silesia region to educate religious youth. In 1939 another religious house was built in Zakopane.

At the end of the Second World War, 5 houses belonged to the Polish province. In the new post-war reality, when Poland found itself within new borders, the Ordinaries of the western territories appealed to religious orders and congregations for pastoral help. The Salvatorians also responded to this appeal. In 1947 they already worked at 16 branches. The continuous increase in the membership allowed new establishments to be opened: in 1975, 31 belonged to the Polish province, 27 of them domestic, and two in the USA and Canada each.

As of now, Salvatorians of the Polish Province work in 35 religious houses, both in the country and abroad: in the USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic and missions in Tanzania, in Congo (former Zaire), the Philippines and India. The Province of Poland currently has 458 members, with approximately 1,200 the total number of members of the entire Congregation.

Enlivened by the words of the Servant of God, the saintly Founder of the Society of the Divine Savior, Father Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan: “As long as there exists even one man in the world who does not know and love Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, you must not rest”, And so, today Salvatorians are working in all continents of the world.