Biography of St Jude

Memorial  

28 October (Roman Church); 19 June (Eastern Church)

Profile

Son of Cleophas, who died a martyr, and Mary who stood at the foot of the Cross, and who anointed Christ's body after death. Brother of Saint James the Lesser; nephew of Mary and Joseph; blood relative of Jesus Christ, and reported to look a lot like him. May have been a fisherman.
Writer of canonical letter. Preached in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia with Saint Simon. Healer. Exorcist. Could exorcise pagan idols, which caused the demons to flee and the statues to crumble.
His patronage of lost or impossible causes traditionally derives from confusion by many early Christians between Jude and Judas; not understanding the difference between the names, they never prayed for Jude's help, and devotion to him became something of a lost cause.

Name Meaning

Sweetness or gentleness of character (Thaddeu

Our Dear and Beloved

Saint Jude

Patronage

Desperate situations, forgotten causes, hospital workers, hospitals, impossible causes, lost causes

Died

Beaten to death with a club, then beheaded post-mortem in 1st century Persia; relics at Saint Peter's, Rome, at Rheims, and at Toulouse, France