About St Jude

About St. Jude the Apostle

Saint Jude was one of the original apostles and is also known as Thaddeus. He is the author of the canonical epistle and describes himself as Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James the Less. The term could also mean “brethren of the Lord” describing their closeness with Jesus

The epistle he authored is directed to the Churches of the East, particularly to the Jewish Converts.

Tradition asserts that Jude the Apostle preached in Mesopotamia, Syria, Samaria and Persia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62 AD and assisted in the election of James as bishop of Jerusalem.

He then left to spread the Word of Christ to Persia and suffered martyrdom in Armenia which was part of the Persian empire. In time, St. Jude came to be regarded as the special patron of “hopeless cases”, possibly because it was felt that devotion to him had been neglected for some time, most likely because of his name being the same as the traitor Judas (Iscariot). A little office of St. Jude appeared and in abbreviated form, the main prayer reads:

Most Holy apostle, most faithful friend and servant of Jesus Christ, Jude Thaddeus, who is invoked as the special advocate of those who are in trouble and almost without hope, pray for me that by your merits, I may receive consolation in my tribulations and difficulties … and finally, with you and all the elect, I may love and bless God eternally. Amen.

Feast Day

Feast Day: October 28
Name Meaning: “Gentleness of character”
Patron Saint of: Desperate situations, forgotten causes, workers hospitals, impossible causes.