St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother
of St. James the Less, and a relative of Our Saviour. St. Jude was one of
the 12 Apostles of Jesus.
Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria,
Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned
to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother,
St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem.
He is an author of an epistle (letter) to the Churches of the East,
particularly the Jewish converts, directed against the heresies of the
Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics. This Apostle is said to have suffered
martyrdom in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia. The final
conversion of the Armenian nation to Christianity did not take place until
the third century of our era.
Jude was the one who asked Jesus at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the
whole world after His resurrection. Little else is known of his life.
Legend claims that he visited Beirut and Edessa; possibly martyred with
St. Simon in Persia.
Jude is invoked in desperate situations because his New Testament
letter stresses that the faithful should persevere in the environment of
harsh, difficult circumstances, just as their forefathers had done before
them. Therefore, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and his feast
day is October 28. Saint Jude is not the same person as Judas Iscariot who
betrayed Our Lord and despaired because of his great sin and lack of trust
in God's mercy.