About St Jude
Jude Thaddeus, a fisherman, was cousin to Jesus and was a brother of the Apostle James the Less. His mother, whose name was Mary, stood beneath the Cross when Jesus died, and later came to anoint the body of Jesus. His father was Cleophas, who died a martyr.
Saint Jude knew Jesus well in his childhood. When called upon, he left all he had in his life to follow Christ and his teachings.
Along with eleven other men, Jude followed Christ, lived with him, fled following the Last Supper and rejoined him during the Resurrection. Saint Jude was filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and a desire to spread the teachings of Christ.
Saint Jude cured the King of Edessa from leprosy in the name of Jesus. This is why Saint Jude is often depicted with an image of Jesus.
God gave Jude a special power. When he ordered the devils in pagan idols to leave, the images fell to the ground, broken into pieces.
Following Pentecost, Saint Jude journeyed to Mesopotamia, where he preached for some time. He then, with fellow Apostle Saint Simon, worked as a missionary in Persia, where both Jude and Simon eventually suffered martyrdom. Saint Jude was beaten to death with a club. His head was then cut from his body with an axe. His relics are now honoured in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Saint Jude has a special shield that represents him and the deeds he did during his lifetime. It is red with a sailboat, which has a cross on the mast. Saint Jude the Apostle is seen as the writer of the Letter of Jude in the New Testament and is popularly known as the patron of impossible causes.
Prayer to Saint Jude
Apostle of Jesus,
You carried the Good News to the world.
Guide us in our learning,
And in working to achieve our goals
Guide us in understanding our troubles,
And in learning to grow from them
Speak to Jesus for us in our needs
& Help us to help others.
We remember the help you give us
And do our best to tell others about you