He entered the Society of Jesus at Rome on 20 September 1563, and taught philosophy, theology, sacred scripture, and Hebrew in the colleges of the order at Pont-à-Mousson, Paris, and Bordeaux.
[1] On arriving in Scotland Gordon, as a kinsman of King James VI, had influence among the nobility; and he engaged in public discussions with Protestant ministers.
Reporting to Francis Walsingham on 18 October 1585, Thomas Rogers wrote that the Jesuits were announcing progress on conversions, and were still aiming to make the king a Catholic.
On the advice of his councillors of state he sent Gordon and Crichton to Rome to arrange with the Pope means of restoring the Catholic religion in Scotland.
Gordon was sent into exile in 1595; but he subsequently paid two visits to Scotland in June 1597 and December 1598, still with the object of bringing about the conversion of the king.