Saint Jude Thaddeus, the Apostle:

Feast day : 28 October

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Jude Thaddeus, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus. After the Ascension of the Lord and the Pentecost, St. Jude is believed to have preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Iduma, Syria, Libya, Mesapotamia and finally in Persia. In the year 62, he returned to Jerusalem after the martyrdom of his brother James. He is the author of the Epistle of St. Jude which he wrote to strengthen the faith of the newly converts in the face of growing heresies of that time. He is believed to have achieved his glorious martyrdom in Persia along-with Saint Simon, the Zealot. He remains till date a powerful intercessory and is the patron saint of desperate and lost causes.

Saint Jude was the brother of Saint James, the Less and St. Simeon of Jerusalem who were the sons of Cleophas and Mary, the sister of the Blessed Virgin. He is mentioned in the Gospels as one of the twelve disciples who were chosen by Jesus and is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. After the Ascension of the Lord and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Juda, Samaria, Iduma, Mesapotamia, Libya and Syria. He returned to Jerusalem in the year 62 after the martyrdom of his brother Saint James. He authored the Epistle of Saint Jude, which was his zealous response to the several heresies that threatened to weaken the faith of the newly converted Jews. Later he travelled to Persia where he is believed to have attained his glorious martyrdom.

He is often depicted carrying the image of Jesus in his hand and close to his chest. According to the writings of Eusebius, King Abgar sent a letter to Jesus seeking a cure for an illness afflicting him. He sent his letter through his envoy Hannan, offering his own province to Jesus as a safe dwelling place. The envoy painted a likeness of Jesus or according to another account Jesus pressed his face into a cloth and gave it to Hannan to be taken back to King Abgar. Upon receiving the image of Jesus, King Abgar placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses. After the Death of Jesus, Saint Thomas, the Apostle, sent Saint Jude to King Abgar. He was then miraculously cured of his illness and converted to Christianity along-with his people.

Death & Martyrdom:

According to tradition, Saint Jude was martyred in the year 65 in Beirut along-with Saint Simon, the Zealot. His sacred remains were later brought to Rome and placed in a crypt in Saint Peter’s Basilica. He is known to be a powerful intercessory and the patron saint of desperate and lost causes. He is also the patron saint of the Armenian Church along-with Saint Bartholomew who also preached in Armenia.