Catholic Blesseds, Saints, Solemnities & Holy Days

St. Jude was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus.  He is generally identified as St. Jude Thaddeus.  He is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another disciple, the betrayer of Jesus.  St. Jude was a brother of St. James, and a relative of Jesus.  We know this by, “Jude, brother of James”, Luke 6:16.  He is mentioned twice in the New Testament, in the lists of Apostles in Luke 6:16, and Acts 1:13.  The Gospel of John also once mentions a disciple called “Judas not Iscariot” John 14:22. 

Writes of old teach that St. Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia.  He returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, to help with the election of his brother St. Simeon, to become Bishop of Jerusalem.  He is the author of an Epistle to the Churches of the East, particularly to the Jewish converts.  It is widely believed that St. Jude suffered martyrdom in Armenia, which was under the control of persia.  Armenia did not completely convert to Christianity until the third Century.  St. Jude was the Apostle that asked Jesus at the Last Supper, why he would not manifest Himself to the whole world after his ressurection.  Other than this, little is known about his life.  Legend teaches he visited Beirut and Edessa as he traveled to preach and convert.   

St. Jude is the Patron Saint of “lost causes” and “desperate situations” because the New Testament stresses  that the faithful should persevere in harsh and difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before them.  That is the reason he is patron saint of desperate cases and his Feast Day is October 28^th.