Jean-Nicolas Cordier
Jesuit priest, martyr
Who they were
The decree on martyrdom describes him as a priest of the Society of Jesus, born on 3 December 1710 and dead on 30 September; the Roman Martyrology says that after the suppression of the Society of Jesus he carried on his priestly ministry in the territory of Verdun until, during the French Revolution, he was thrown into a ship at anchor off Rochefort because he was a priest, and died there of deadly starvation. He was beatified on 1 October 1995 by John Paul II, among Jean-Baptiste Souzy and his sixty-three companions whose martyrdom in 1794-1795 the decree declared.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
The Roman Martyrology says he was thrown into a prison ship because he was a priest and died of deadly starvation.
The cause
Jean-Nicolas Cordier has been beatified; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: Jesuits: Blessed Jean-Nicolas Cordier.
Connected on this site
- Jean-Baptiste Souzy Blessed“He was beatified on 1 October 1995 by John Paul II, among Jean-Baptiste Souzy and his sixty-three companions whose martyrdom in 1794-1795 the decree declared.” — this site's research
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis 87 (1995), p. 48 - decree on martyrdom
- Roman Martyrology, 30 September (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - beatifications of 1 October 1995
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.