ODORICO OF PORDENONE, Blessed. - Born at Villanova di Pordenone between 1269 and 1272, of the Mattiussi, an Italian family. While still very young he embraced the Franciscan life in the convent of St. Francis in Udine. Ordained a priest, he asked and obtained permission to go on mission to the Far East.
It is not easy to establish when he began the memorable pilgrimage that lasted thirty-three years, through the populated centers of Asia. He embarked at Venice and reached Trebizond, a very important port of call. From there he began his journey by land. He penetrated into Armenia and Persia; at Hormuz he embarked on an Arab ship and in twenty-eight days reached Tana at the mouths of the Indus, where shortly before four Franciscans had been martyred, among them James of Padua. He gathered the relics of the martyrs and continued his journey, rounding the extreme tip of India, touched Ceylon, sailed the sea of the Indies and reached the Nicobar Islands, Sumatra, Java and Borneo, the first European to set foot on those lands. He then disembarked at Kuang-ceu in southern China and reached Zaiton, where he found the first two Franciscan convents and deposited there the remains of the martyrs of Tana. Then he reached Camsay, the Quinsay of Marco Polo, passed on to Nanking and continued his journey along the imperial canal and beyond it the Blue River. In 1326 he founded the church of Sin-Ching (Shantung). Having crossed the Yellow River, he finally reached Peking, the goal of his journey, capital of the Mongol Empire and residence of John of Montecorvino, metropolitan of the East, where he stayed three years. Through his zeal and a wonderful life he succeeded in converting more than twenty thousand infidels and in overcoming dangers and hardships of every kind, to the point of risking his life several times. By the will of Friar John of Montecorvino he set about returning to Europe to report everything to the Pope. He left Cathay crossing the continent, reaching as far as Tibet (Tibet). Having traversed eastern Turkestan, following the well-known caravan route of the Tarim basin, and having crossed the high valleys of the Pamir, he descended into Afghanistan, from there passed into northern Persia and, through the Armenian valleys, reached Trebizond. In 1330 he arrived at Venice after having traveled about fifty thousand kilometers. He set out for Avignon to report on his journey to Pope John XXII, but, having reached Pisa, he fell gravely ill; he then withdrew to Padua, to the convent of the Santo, where in May 1330 he dictated to Friar Guglielmo da Solagna the account of his travels. Finally from Padua he went to Udine and there died in holiness on 14 Jan. 1331. Benedict XIV recognized for him the cult of blessed that had been uninterruptedly paid to him. His body is now venerated in the church of the Carmine in Udine, gathered in a rich mausoleum.
The account left by O. of his travels constitutes, together with those of other well-known travelers, the principal source of the most ancient and reliable information on the countries of the Far East during the Middle Ages. In it O. briefly reports whatever could interest religious and laypeople, but the latter more than the former, since marvelous news prevails over pious news. He dwells on speaking of the products, the traffic and the riches of Asia, without ever alluding to himself and still less troubling himself to give fame to his name. If the Latin used is a very poor thing, simplicity and the absolute absence of any pompous and hyperbolic form make up for it, which is a sign and guarantee of sincerity.
O. is rightly recognized as a pioneer of missionary life and one of the most celebrated Italian travelers.